I think 2011 will be the year of the small project, like socks or arm warmers. I want to crank out projects and use up yarn. Of course, my simple little socks are taking forever so there goes that plan.
I’m working on a pair of socks using Lorna’s Laces. And can I just say that I’m loving Lorna’s Laces. Very nice yarn. It’s just…a lot of things are colliding for me to take forever on the project. First, I’m using extremely small needles and it’s tiring out my hands quicker than normal. Second, I’m doing my very first short row heel (and toe) and while I’m excited, I’m at the point at the heel and doing my usual procrastination to get my head into the frame of mind for a new and possibly difficult technique. Yadda yadda yadda…bullshit bullshit bullshit. I know. It’s a lame excuse, but it’s mine. Third, I’m getting addicted to Civ III again.
I’m not sure where that Civ addiction came from suddenly. Oh, wait. I do. I installed a free Civ on my phone and played it like mad. That in turn, made me NEED to play it again on my computer. It’s all I can think about now. I want to play. My poor little city of Atlanta isn’t growing as it should and I need to build more workers to develop the land and I need to remember to build a new scout because soon I’ll get to ships (can I do ships now already?) and oh, a warrior then needs to be built so he can go with my settlers, maybe New York will build the warrior or is New York building the Hanging Gardens? Oh, and workers! I need workers. It’s maddening!
I’m limiting the Civ play. A couple nights a week to 30 minutes (after the child has gone to bed). I took a class yesterday on juggling multiple projects, and while, I wish it really went into it a bit more, it did talk about procrastination. As in, sometimes you get so overwhelmed with everything that you can’t begin or you don’t have the task defined clearly so you procrastinate. And that’s my problem with the heel. I’ve never done it before, so it’s this amorphous concept and I’m just not sure where it’s going to go or how it will look. Thus, big shiny pause button on the sock.
The class says, “Tell others when you’ll complete the project.” and “Focus on the process rather than the results.” to combat procrastination. So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m telling you, my wonderful readers, that by Sunday night, I will have completed the darn heel and have started the foot. Got that? I’m telling people when I’ll complete the project so I have…what’s the word? Accountability. If I do not finish the heel by Sunday night then I will hang my head in shame and you can point and gasp at how I did not finish.
The second idea, “Focus on the process rather than the results.” is so important in knitting. So many times we get overwhelmed with the big picture that we just give up before we start. Rather than worry about the whole heel, I need to just look at the next direction, and once I complete that line the next. It’s the same problem with which I struggle in running. I think about the finish line or how many miles to go and not the step I’m taking or the breath I’m breathing. We need to be more zen and just focus on the moment.
I will let you know how this goes.
