Avoid the New Year's Bottle Rocket

There's a "handy" little feature on my cell phone that lets me know how much I've used my phone that week. Ugh. I finally turned off the notifications because I couldn't handle the guilt. It didn't seem like much to check Facebook a few minutes at a time, but it certainly added up quickly! Did I really need to scroll through a hundred photos of my cousin's brother-in-law's nephew's wedding? Big resounding no. 

You'll hear "New Year, New Start" about a million times in the next two weeks. It's exhausting and "bottle rocket" mentality. You start hard, you burn out, then you give up before Valentine's Day. Today I want to talk about my plan to make manageable creative changes for the new year.

First, I need better rotation of projects. I have all my works in progress (WIPs) separated in project bags, (thanks, Yazzii!) but I tend to sew until I get sick of something and can't look at it anymore. I think if I do a set rotation of a week or two, instead of "baste these hexagons until you see them in your sleep", I'll be much happier.

Second, keep a bag close to me. If the kids are in bed and my sewing bag is in the other room, it's dead to me. I need to grab it before I sit down or I'm not getting back up until bedtime.

Third, stitch with a purpose. I'm much more motivated if I have a deadline or if I'm making a gift. If I'm making something for me, it will never get done. 

Fourth, do not give in to the green monster. "Her sewing machine is better. Her stitches are invisible. She finished 30 projects this year." Don't do that! So much of social media is FAKE. Don't compare yourself to something that could be imaginary. I have the tools I need to make beautiful work of which I should be proud.

Lastly, give myself grace. Remember that I would rather leave this world with a closet full of finished projects than an inbox full of notifications. There will be days that the kids have run wild, the house is chaos, and my husband is stuck late at work. I will lay on the couch after bedtime and scroll through my phone, and it will be okay. Because I will try again tomorrow.