Saturday, November 26, 2016

The Secret to Making Lists



People have different ideas about which day starts their week. You'll notice calendars are split between which day is first at the top--Sunday or Monday. Many people make their To-Do Lists on Monday morning. It may be unusual, but Saturday morning is when I mentally set up my coming week. My weekends are more or less unstructured so I am free to sew if there aren't other commitments, and that means an extended time instead of a few minutes or hour here and there. Using that time wisely takes strategy, and I set up the rest of the week while I'm at it. I'm a serious list maker.

Although I will have free time, I mark off time slots to spend in the studio knowing I have paid work with deadlines. My free sewing comes after that, but it does give me a goal to work toward. 

Studio Goals

1. Bind the Clementine quilt above, and one of two are done.

2. Sew together the next set of blocks. Quit and bind. Label both.



3. Bind Tiki Beads. I'm thinking a nice black frame here-- or perhaps dark purple, and incorporate a hanging sleeve in the binding. That's one less seam to sew by hand!



4. A 30 minute clean up. That means loud music, dancing, and re-stashing all the fabric on table tops. A clean sweep after working with orange Minkee is going to be a necessity. The lint is everywhere!

5. Two customer quilts are promised for next weekend so they can be bound for Christmas gifts. One the shelf, and ready to load.



6. One Bee Block for November in lovely golds, blues and sea greens. Like an ocean! The directions are printed out, and ready. Did you know you can download a large number of block tutorials from Blossom Heart Quilts Bee Hive Tutorials? This will be our Hive's last block for the year, and we're done! Me, too.


7. One Bee Block for October--yup, I'm behind! Beth from Cooking Up Quilts asked for a sampler in black and white, and this was the block sample done for my month as Queen Bee.

8. 220 Four patch blocks for the Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt I committed to with Irene the Scrap Queen. If you are a scrapper, and you have missed this sew along, please take a peek. Bonnie Hunter is just plain awesome! She is upbeat and energetic, and there are motivating link ups too. It's also going to be a good way to hit my stash in a colorway I don't normally use. It feels so good to branch out.

I wonder if I'm going to have time to sleep or exercise this week? Just kidding! Of course! I'll just mark my calendar and do it. Are you moving and sleeping enough?



I'm still working like a mad woman trimming my scraps. You wouldn't believe the work stations I've been experimenting with. A bathroom step stool pulled up the coffee table is a back killer, but I can see the t.v. I have to rethink this one to a sturdy table to stand at.


Roast the Pumpkins, and Put Up the Trees!

The tree should go up this week, and a few other holiday decorations, but I'm not big on overdoing the trimmings. Neither do I buy many presents. I try to find special gifts for people throughout the year. I don't buy to have 'something to give'. I gave this up when my kids were old enough to understand, and it eliminated one big stressor of the season. Now we know when we get together it's to enjoy each other. I think that is our greatest gift of the season.


The Big Secret About Lists

Do you make your own lists? It's that time of the year. Do you schedule your time? If you are already a To-Do List maker, you know the difference it can make in keeping you on task, and not in front of the boob tube watching Netflix. If you haven't tried it before, you may be pleasantly surprised how your productivity goes up-up-up! So are you ready for the little secret about them? It is simply a piece of paper that tells you to show up, and showing up is the first, necessary step when there's a job to do. Get motivated today. Make a list.

Come on, Doxie girls.
Let's go sew.


9 comments:

Unknown said...

Yeah for list-makers!! I do a list nearly every a.m. EARLY. A goal for next year is to try projecting a week-list. A list is a must! It does keep me on track. I saw a planner for 2017 somewhere - pretty much for quilters. I think it was $17......anyone know where this is?

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I have to admit I'm not a list maker. One of things I can enjoy as a retired teacher is less structure! But I still have a mental "list" of things to accomplish for each week. I love your holiday gifting philosophy! With our grown sons who live in neighboring states, we've adopted a philosophy of our time spent together is the most important gift, and we enjoy every minute of it!

Angie in SoCal said...

I'm a mental list maker. For instance, I know of three things I must get done by Dec 9th - so I concentrate on those. If I get done, I let myself play with something new or look down the timeline for the next deadline.

Kate @ Smiles From Kate said...

I should really take a leaf out of your book. I used to be a list maker but got out of the habit. I used to be organised and methodical in my work flow, thats gone out of the window too. I used to have regular finishes, nope, regular blogger, nope, I seriously need to take a leaf out of your book. Your post could just be my saviour.
Smiles
Kate

Stitchin At Home said...

Not a list maker. I do mentally plan things when I know they have to be done by a certain time, but not a rigid list at all.

KaHolly said...

Oh, Yes! I'm a lister, too! And I take great pleasure in checking thing off when they've been completed! Excellent post. Good luck finished everything on YOUR list!
XO

Sharon - IN said...

I am a list maker for what I plan to accomplish quilting wise. Also a list maker for grocery shopping, and errand running, otherwise I'll forget something. But not for chores and I was never a weekly meal planner - those lists I aways rebel against!

Kate said...

I'm not a big list maker, but I have learned to schedule my sewing and exercise times. At 7 each evening, I wander up to the sewing room for at least 15 minutes, usually I use the whole hour. I typically work on 4 or 5 projects at a time, but I've been using the One Monthly Goal challenge to motivate me on something that's stalled and I have one priority project that gets the attention if I don't have a lot of time to spend. It's worked well for me this year.

Tish Stemple said...

I am finally starting to embrace and love the making of lists. Still need to work at it, but getting a better grasp on my time. Ummm...just yell when you need help cleaning that sewing space...we will be right up :)