Sewing When Distracted
I have to admit this is more common than not for me - I am easily distracted and my brain is always spinning with the various projects, deadlines, ideas, etc. that are swirling around in its foggy depths. Sometimes I wish I had a device similar to the Pensieve (brilliant!) in the Harry Potter books: a place where I could take all the excess ideas, projects, etc. out of my head and store them until I was ready to take them out and put them to work.
Until that day comes, it's just a matter of muddling through - I employ various strategies to try to stay on task and keep focused. I'd love to hear what others do!
First of all, I keep a white board where I list all the various projects and deadlines that I have on my plate. It really helps me to keep them floating fresh at the surface rather than precipitating (like sugar out of my iced tea) to the bottom of my brain.
I also make lots of other kinds of lists. I use a lot of sticky notes which end up all over my studio (and home). Article outlines, project ideas, sources for supplies - all sorts of things get noted and because I can stick them to the wall/monitor/sewing machine/telephone, they have a much higher probability of actually getting done or being remembered.
From there, it's more a matter of willpower. Sometimes I find I'm getting distracted because I'm not enjoying what I'm working on. Whether it's frustration or boredom, the result is the same. In this case I usually set little rewards for myself for progress made. The carrot on the end of the stick, if you will. It might be a few minutes walking around the garden, a game of Sudoku or window shopping at favorite websites. Sometimes I will try to intersperse other smaller, potentially more interesting projects at intervals within the larger project.
Somehow or another, with a lot of hard work it all gets done and usually on deadline. But it's a perpetual struggle. I wouldn't trade my funky brain, though. It may be random and more than a little scattered at times but it comes up with some pretty interesting stuff.
So what do you do to stay on task?
Until that day comes, it's just a matter of muddling through - I employ various strategies to try to stay on task and keep focused. I'd love to hear what others do!
First of all, I keep a white board where I list all the various projects and deadlines that I have on my plate. It really helps me to keep them floating fresh at the surface rather than precipitating (like sugar out of my iced tea) to the bottom of my brain.
I also make lots of other kinds of lists. I use a lot of sticky notes which end up all over my studio (and home). Article outlines, project ideas, sources for supplies - all sorts of things get noted and because I can stick them to the wall/monitor/sewing machine/telephone, they have a much higher probability of actually getting done or being remembered.
From there, it's more a matter of willpower. Sometimes I find I'm getting distracted because I'm not enjoying what I'm working on. Whether it's frustration or boredom, the result is the same. In this case I usually set little rewards for myself for progress made. The carrot on the end of the stick, if you will. It might be a few minutes walking around the garden, a game of Sudoku or window shopping at favorite websites. Sometimes I will try to intersperse other smaller, potentially more interesting projects at intervals within the larger project.
Somehow or another, with a lot of hard work it all gets done and usually on deadline. But it's a perpetual struggle. I wouldn't trade my funky brain, though. It may be random and more than a little scattered at times but it comes up with some pretty interesting stuff.
So what do you do to stay on task?
Labels: inspiration, sewing, time management
posted by Katrina at
10:00 AM
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