I keep starting crochet projects and then wandering off again. Sort of like with my writing. But at least I’m making stuff. Just not finishing.
Tell me what you did this week. Show me the way to get done.
47 thoughts on “Working Wednesday, March 4, 2020”
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I can’t show you how to finish crochet projects. March started, and I stopped my daily squares. I really should put them together to make a blanket, but I’m torn between blocking and not so that is making me waffle.
In the meantime, I’ve started a new quilt. Yay! the shiny!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9T8ci_h05T/
I’m totally a work/reward person. When faced with things I’m not real motivated to do, I work out a “30 minutes on the blah thing gets me 10 minutes on a fun thing” deal. Or whatever makes sense for the projects in question. Did that Monday and finished up a couple things that had been hanging around too long.
On the crochet front, I have 4 finished shawls that just need blocking. Really gonna try to do that today.
Also, your start/dont finish thing prolly means you’re anxious about something else entirely. Could it be that 4 year book? I expect you’ll be a new woman in more ways than one when that thing’s out of your hair. Good luck!
I’m beginning new things, so also not helpful. After being workless for a month, a proof-reading job arrived at the same time as the delayed edit; and I’ve also agreed to a second proof-reading job. So my energy and juggling skills are going to be tested. But so far, it’s good: I’m going through the edit stripping out rubbish Word formatting and applying my own, simple styles (why does any text need ‘pattern clear white’?!), and can see there’s lots more straightforward craft stuff to do. The text’s about bookselling and reading, so should have interesting bits, at least.
The proofs are three H. P. Lovecraft stories, starting with ‘The Colour out of Space’, which is fun so far, although I don’t know what the setters were on – there are quite a few literals. The other proofs are due in a few days: John le Carre’s ‘The Night Manager’, which is a straightforward rerun, so just needs a quick read.
I do want to keep doing a bit each day on my fiction project and photography; and then there’s a lot of gardening to do. Also keeping fingers crossed re my eyesight: I realized on Sunday that the vision in my left eye was blurred. Went to my optician on Monday, and it’s the best thing out of what might have been wrong: I need laser treatment to get rid of thickening round the lens – which is a common post-cataract complication. But she said sight can deteriorate faster than with cataract, and it’s already bothering me. So hope I get an appointment soon.
Fingers crossed for you for a fast appointment Jane. The advances in ophthalmology within our lifetimes has been amazing. A hundred years ago we would all be blind and living on the charity of family members who would help us accomplish every day tasks.
Deadlines do it for me. Had a yearly-recurring project I was procrastinating on until I learned that my boss is going out on maternity leave at the end of the week, so I have to finish it and present it to her before then. I’ve never done it so fast in my life.
They’ve always worked for me, too, though I’d prefer to deny it. The adrenalin rush is very helpful.
Parkinson’s law is the adage that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”.
I’m suffering from this as well. I had a goal at work for that past 2 years. I was ready to drop it since it wasn’t getting priority. My supervisor had a different idea. It is due by March 31. It has been given more time and attention but I am not at critical point yet where it trumps everything. I still have time…
Having assistance can help too. Teddy was eager to help water the indoor plants this morning.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9UT9CkBaWA/
That is so cute, I love that he is comfortable enough to dangle his front legs from the top of the ladder.
Teddy looks unconcerned by the “danger” sign. Where are the humans to push off the ladder, where?
I started a Tempestry scarf for an art exhibit and I finished the knitted/cross-stitched-on tie for the crush.
I, too, am better at starting and going for the shiny new thing. And then I lose pieces of whatever it is, in the maelstrom that is my home. In my work life, however, I have successfully completed projects by putting on a CD and telling myself I cannot get out of the chair until it finishes. Then I allow myself a piece of dark chocolate, or perhaps eat a meal I told myself I couldn’t eat until I worked for the length of the CD. Food is definitely a motivator for me!
I find that money at the end of the project / work is good incentive. No money if I don’t finish the project.
Also reward with something good to do or eat or watch… I listen to specific music to help me get to the end. A deadline helps. We are heading to Edmonton in two weeks. I must finish vest I’m making for auntie.
Since I didn’t manage to do Lee’s month of crafting this year. I got out the original pieces of my purly pawprint blanket (my first blanket) and laid out the order they should be in and divided them up. Then I learned to use mattress stitch and sewed the first row, Big step for me. I have many uncompleted blanket pieces waiting to fulfil their destiny. If they don’t fulfil their potential, I may never fulfil my own 🙂
That’s great! I feel like I should extend that project with a new hashtag like #daily2020 or #progress2020 or something. I don’t want February to last any longer than it does, but also nothing says Feb is the only month things can happen.
As for finishing things… Deadlines help, rewards (like stickers or new yarn) help me a lot, and just finding something that works for an endpoint helps. Draw a line under it and call it done, and give it away. My younger kids says I should take up pottery because then I can give away the pieces I like less and tell people to eat soup out of them until they break, and I’ll give them new ones.
I didn’t do the Feb daily, too distracted. But thinking about what I wanted to do inspired me. I have a skirt I love that is particularly good for travel that is developing holes. And I’d been reading a bit about Sashiko around the same time. I thought it would be fun to embroider tiny flags over the holes and maybe around the hem. I haven’t been to 28 or 29 countries but if I used city and state flags I could stick to just places I’ve visited. And at one a day, not so overwhelming as thinking about the whole project at once. So thank you!
I’m knee-deep in organising the trash & treasure stall for our school fete. I broke out the poster paints yesterday to make signs, and had a good time with that, but I won’t be volunteering for this again in a hurry.
I’m also feeling pretty good about the fanfic project I’m working on – 75,000 words and climbing, and the structure feels like it’s coming together.
I’m going to claim credit for getting the dotter to macrame a dream catcher for me. It now hangs at the entrance to my bed nook and based on last night, it works.
Just four more days until we start “saving daylight” again. Allow me a hearty “Bah! Humbug!” at the very notion, but I’ll not inflict my twice-a-year rant on everyone.
I have my own rant memorized, since I work outdoors at both the beginning and the end of the day (also bits in the middle, but as far as daylight goes they don’t count.)
This was the one thing I was in agreement with Trump on. Stop the time change. Although, I do prefer to be on daylight saving time, I would be content if we just stop doing it, whichever schedule we land on.
For me at paid work, there are ongoing deadlines so that external pressure helps get the work done.
With hobbies this past week, it’s been several steps back and zero forward so far. I was trying to get my homework done for a quilting class and the iron died. OK, get a new iron. Done. Then the instructor emailed that the instruction measurements were incorrect so the homework needs to be redone. There’s 120 plus tiny half-square triangles that either need to be pitched or transformed into something else. whine whine whine.
My vote is to transform them.
I suspect the book, Tiny Habits, which I got from the library two weeks ago and have yet to open, might have some suggestions for finishing stuff if I ever get around to reading it!
I’m guessing it’s a proponent of baby steps, which is what works for me, much like Lee’s #dailyfeb2020. A commitment to tiny goals to be accomplished at a consistent rate, and stuff gets finished.
Meanwhile, it feels really weird to have polished up the beginning of a new manuscript (series proposal actually), with the intent of NOT finishing it (until it sells). I’ve never had that luxury before, always submitting on a full, so I’m fighting the ingrained habit of slogging along with the draft when now I need to stop when I hit the 50-page mark for the proposal. Intentional incompleteness is just weird, like much of the publishing world.
Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg? I haven’t read the book since it has just come out, but I did participate in his tiny habits 1 week long program. It’s free. The principle is to come up with a habit that is so tiny you can’t not do it and link it to doing it after you finish something else. An example is I will floss one tooth every morning after I use the bathroom.
I really liked James Clear’s book Atomic Habits which took information from BJ Fogg’s work, Charles Duhig ( The Power of Habit), and Steven Guise (Mini Habits – my least favorite). I suspect all will work well as audiobooks so you can “read” them while doing other things – crocheting, driving, etc.
My big accomplishment is that today my BIL helped me choose a computer. I thought he, the computer junkie would be the one who was driving up the price, but I was the one who kept choosing the more expensive options.
The best part is that if all goes well, I should be back online in about 2 weeks. I miss you guys.
The only way I can manage to complete projects that I’m doing because I like doing them is to have a purpose for the final product that involves someone else. If it’s just me who will use or admire the thing, then it feels like it’s up to my whims or level of interest to finish — not really a good incentive.
If I’m doing the thing to give to someone else, or to show to someone else per a promise of some sort, I’m much more likely to finish, because the world has provided me with a meaningful deadline.
(This is probably less than 2 cents worth, but it’s all I’ve got. 🙂
Does that mean we should nag Jenny more? Perhaps whine about how distressed we’ll be if she doesn’t finish? (I have to say, emotional blackmail doesn’t appeal. But maybe she could imagine our disappointed faces, like the orphans in ‘Oliver Twist’.)
I think we may already have over-whined about the (WE WISH YOU’D WRITE IT) Surprise Lily book…. wild guess, maybe?
(Plus Jenny has created an incentive for us all in saying she’d post the removed portions of her WIP, which is kind of an anti-incentive for nagging her to finish now.)
I think you’ve read most of them already. You must be as tired of Nita as I am.
I’m already incapacitated by guilt, so probably, no.
But thanks for thinking of me!
Trying in vain to think of anything (other than laundry and cooking) that I finished in the past week. Of course, I didn’t begin anything, either, and I need to. I bought a truck. I don’t think that counts. It was an accomplishment, but I neither began nor ended it.
Don’t underestimate laundry and cooking. Life is much less comfortable without them.
Buying a vehicle is very stressful in my experience: all that money and salesmen lying to you. I think it’s definitely an achievement.
I bought it from a coworker, though; I’d been listening to him talk about it since long before he bought another truck and decided to sell this one, so I knew he wasn’t lying about it! 🙂
Waiting for him to finally be ready to part with it, now, that was an achievement.
Started my second ever crochet baby blanket. Absolutely loved making the first. It was for 1st baby of sister-in-lawish and she requested bright colors. I did a copy of this
http://pattycrochete.canalblog.com/archives/2013/03/01/26544745.html
in the brightest colours morris and sons avalon comes in. Pregnant again, she requested same again in red white and black. Only that was Dec, right before we left on a trip and then I forgot! I’m slow so I can only hope I finish my project before she finishes hers. Different yarn, from Hobbii.com as morris… were having trouble sourceing white of all things. Not sure I like it as much but it can be machine washed up to 40ºC, an improvement for a baby blanket
Crocheting in French: that’s really advanced!
giggling at my laptop, so dignified.
Nope, there’s a translation, but this is the primary source. I thought this crowd would like that. Also this version doesn’t twist the square as some people on ravelry found with the translation.
That’s a very interesting pattern! Good luck with your project!
I thought I had nothing till I remembered yesterday. On our way to my husband’s cardiologist we left early enough to vote in the primary election in Massachusetts. We made the right choice. Then we went to the accountant’s office to pick up our taxes, so that is done. Also stopped for a bite to eat, nowhere special, but it was a good day. Home in time to take a nap.
I had no trouble voting in California, but last night there were reports that a number of people had unexpectedly found themselves bounced from voter lists. This morning I learned from a radio talk show — what I listen to in the car headed to a hair trim appointment — that a poll worker discovered that some people who had rushed to get a Real ID had had their voter status unexpectedly changed! Happily my birthday is in the summer, and I’ll have time to check my status well before November.
Today was definitely a Working Wednesday! We shoveled snow in the front, the path had drifted in again, but we hired out cleaning the parking pad to the local guy with a bobcat. That still involves a fair amount of shoveling because he can’t get right up to the fence and garage. We also raked snow off the roof, did a bunch of laundry, started packing, and cleaned the kitchen. Somewhere in there I also worked at the day job.
I also finished a pair of pillow cases for my sister and Paul made her a bowl. I put those on Instagram.
It was also an awful day because my parents had to put their old dog down. My dad is devastated, she was a total daddy’s girl. Her name was Sugar and she was a Good Dog.
Sorry about Sugar.
Thank you.
Finishing things is overrated.
I used to feel bad about all of the things I started and then wandered away from before they were complete before I finally came to grips with the fact that I get my joy from planning/starting projects. After that, it just feels like tedious work. So now, I’m embracing the incomplete, or at least not beating myself up when I leave something unfinished.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
I like this approach.
For writers’ block?
Yesterday I moved an ancient tree branch that had fallen across the driveway. It was unwieldy, and at one point a rotten bit broke in my hand and I slipped and slid down the embankment. But I got the dang thing off to the side so that I could drive through the rubbish. So, add to the list of reasons to finish: You don’t have a choice.