Year of finishing stuff

I posted this on G+ yesterday:

The Great Finishing Things Journey

In the personal reflection that is happening as I face major surgery next week I realized that I've left a lot of things unfinished. Now this is not meant to be morbid bucket list or a lamenting pile of regrets. It's simply a reminder for me to shit or get off the pot.

I start a lot of projects. I do a lot of planning. I get caught up in the 'oh shiny'. One of the things I've always admired in some people is their ability to finish things. Don't get me wrong, I do finish things, just not as many things as I start. You know, I do the one step forward, two steps back. Cha, cha, cha.

I'm a great project manager. I know how to plan, delegate, motivate; I just have a hard time doing it for/to myself.

I took inventory of uncompleted projects, I've already deleted ones that I will never finish, won't use, are no longer relevant, etc.

Knitting projects-25
Spinning projects-5
Sewing projects-8
Cleaning/decluttering projects-4
Writing projects-10

My goal is to change my Cha, cha to two steps forward, one step back. For every project I want to start I must eliminate two, by either finishing it or deleting/removing it. 

I haven't decided if I'm going to blog this journey or talk about it here. Any suggestions?

What do you use to motivate yourself to finish things? How do you push through the tedious part of projects? Are you secretly envious of folks who finish things too?


I got a few nice replies a some great suggestions. I spent the evening thinking about it more and what I really wanted to achieve. I ended up coming up with a few things that I don't want to happen.


I don't want to loose my creativity. In other words I don't want to be so stifled with schedules and 'must do's' that I loose the free-form thinking and doing that I love.


I don't want to spend my time griping about my family who seem to undermine all my efforts at cleaning and decluttering, and getting stuff done. They don't get things dirty or not put things away simply to piss me off and their demands on my time are legitimate and deserved most of the time.


So what do I want?


I want peace. I want accomplishment. I want beauty. I want love.


I desire to work towards a life rich with these things.


I am going to start to put my projects together with goals, task lists and time lines. Hopefully I'll be able to do that part while I'm on restricted movement during my recovery. 


I would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, ideas. I'm over at G+ as Yakira Heistand. I hope to have an ongoing discussion about simplifying one's life here and over there.


"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."  Ralph Waldo Emerson


Yakira

Open Your Mouth and...

Close your eyes and I will give you a big surprise! Could you resist that face? Do you see what's on the plate? Aside from the chicken nuggets that is. Do you see that lettuce???? Do you see it? That, my friends is our very first harvested crop of the season! That is the reason for Rachel's cheesy grin.

That and the fact that she is completely irrepressible.

I've started following a podcast recently. Craftlit.com is the website, you can click on the spinning wheel to the right or the link I've added to my Places to Go sidebar. Heather Ordover speaks weekly from her home in upstate NY. She is an English Lit teacher and loves to read, but like most of us who craft with our hands, we can't read at the same time. Audio books are a boon but there is a limited selection of what is out there. Heather has managed to put together a wonderful series of classic literature combined with her insights into the narrative, her enthusiasm for knitting and spinning and some fantastic reviews of yarn, websites and books. I'm enjoying listening to my hour a week with her. A few weeks ago we started reading The Scarlett Letter. Not one of my favorites but still a good story for reflection. Heather and the Craftlit crew have dyed up an amazing deep red wool and silk blend yarn and have challenged their listeners to create a pattern using that yarn, the themes in TSL, the time period of the novel and of course the 'A' that Hester wears. The designs have to be entered by the time the last chapter is podcasted.

I've been thinking over the last few days that it is time to push myself into another one of my goals. I want to learn to design. I've been doing a lot of reading about design. You should see what I checked out of the library. I am also putting together a wishlist that I will post to my blog. (Just in case you're out of ideas about what to buy me for Channukah.) Anyway, I drew up a few designs yesterday and today have started to do a few sample swatches and such. I'm actually pretty excited. Even if I don't win, the experience of putting something together inside a deadline will be good for me.

I will tell you more about what I'm working on once I've got more done on my samples.

As for my trip on Thursday, I have charged all the batteries for my camera. Made sure all the cords and stuff are in one place. I loaded my ipod with music and podcasts. Now I just Have to go through which projects I'm bringing to show off and which I'm bringing to work on. I'll worry about clothes later.

Yakira

"I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." Henry David Thoreau.

Two Week Anniversary

I have been writing for two weeks. Pretty good for a college drop-out no?

Okay, remember when I said I wouldn't start another project? I cheated. All the cleaning and sorting and ripping and salvaging of yarn that I did last week got me taking a look at my stash. I've got a pile of one or less skeins of all different weights and fibers.

That's not even all of it. Can you tell I like green? Anyway back to my confession. I started another project. Just a quick one. One itsy bitsy toy. It'll be finished by today. Honest. I mean really, look at all the half skeins of yarn I have, I really need to use up some of it, no? But it's so cute and Larry will love it! It's not every day one gets to work up a knitted Cthulu, or to use the vernacular, a Knithulu. I'm going to make one for my brother too. Better watch out or I'll make an Elder God for you too!

There's his head. That was the hardest part. The body will be a breeze. Look at him in all his tentacled glory. Must... Knit... Elder... God...

Here he is reading my blog. Looks kind of like a cockroach. I have to make his body today, then he'll look like himself. But that gives me an idea. Think anyone would like a knitted cockroach? A knitted ladybug would be so much nicer. Hmmm... Oh all the stash-busting ideas I'm having. Larry will be so happy, it's not going to cost him a dime. Just his sanity as he listens to me jabber about my designs. What about a Flying Spaghetti Monster?

Speaking of Larry. He's in Chicago this week meeting with his business partner and two prospective clients. I'm flying out there Thursday to visit my brother, meet Larry's family, romp around the Windy City as I've never been there before and generally wreak havoc. Sunday and Monday we are driving Larry's car home and he will be officially moved in. This marks our first ever Blog Road Trip! I can't wait to be your Knit-centric, yarn spinning, roving reporter. (bad, bad puns) To continue with my habit of writing every day I will be regaling you with tales of my adventures while traveling and visiting Chicago. Unbeknownst to Larry, I'm hoping to sneak in a visit to a LYS while there, just to keep on topic of this blog, one of them anyway. His mother likes to shop, I think I shall enlist her help. Muwhahaha.

The thot plickens.

Yakira

"I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." Henry David Thoreau.

To knit or not to knit...

So I'll start a blog instead.

Adventure: A bold undertaking, an undertaking involving uncertainty or risk; exciting experience, an exciting or extraordinary event or series of events.

Intrepid: Courageous and bold.

Knitter: To interlock loops of yarn using long needles; to bring people or things together in a close association.

That's a fine thing.

Science has proven that it takes 21 days to form a habit. My first goal for this blog is to form the habit of writing every day. Self improvement gurus and motivational speakers tell us to state our goals as if we have already accomplished them.

And so: I am an accomplished writer. I write every day. It is worthwhile to me to take time every day to express myself in my writing. It is important to me to share with others my thoughts, aspirations and experience on a daily basis.

Yakira

"I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." Henry David Thoreau.