Falling Short of Goals (and it's okay)

3 of my WIPS

There are 3 days left in the WIPS-B-GONE 2022 challenge. I have managed to complete 3 quilts. I had given up trying to get 8 done but was hoping to finish a 4th. That is not going to happen. The fact of the matter is I have been very busy. The house needed cleaned up before guest arrived for Thanksgiving. Then we spent a week entertaining, etc. Now that the guests have gone and I have a little time before returning to work, I am sick.  I have no energy whatsoever.  I have a quilt that is ready to go on the long arm but I need to press it and I don't want to set up the big board. Not because it's that hard to do but because I don't have the energy to do it.

I hate being sick. This illness is actually Asthmatic Bronchitis. I am not contagious but I am struggling to breathe. I will have to take a Covid test before returning to work (not fun). Then I will need to wear a mask while at work. I hate wearing a mask as it makes it harder to breathe when everything is normal. It will be worse with the bronchitis. I also hate to call in sick after being out on vacation for a week. It's not as though I don't have the STO time to take. I will just have to see how this week goes.

More WIPS

All this leads up to not getting that 4th quilt done before the end of the challenge. That is okay though because I did get 3 quilts done in the past 2 months. 3 quilts that had been sitting and waiting to be finished for a long time. 3 quilts that are now out of the WIP pile. That is progress. Plus I learned something new with each of the 3 quilts I finished. Each quilt also made the recipient very happy. So while my goals were not quite met. I did progress and that is my ultimate goal.  3 less projects in my WIP pile is a win. Besides I still have a lot of WIPS left to finish.

It's okay to fall short of your goals just as long as you don't give up on them. What goal have you not quite hit? Are you still working on it?

Losing Track of Time (Time Busters)

 I can't believe almost a month has gone by since I last posted.  Here it is the middle of November (almost anyways) and I am so far behind in what I need to get done it isn't funny. Hurricane Nicole blew through our area the past week but it wasn't even much of a tropical storm by the time it got to us.  We just got a lot of wind and rain.  Thankfully no tornadoes or power outages in our area. So I was not thwarted in making progress, well at least by Mother Nature.

In my last post I talked about the WIPS-B-GONE 2022 challenge. I am proud to say that I have worked on my goals everyday. My little daily tracker is looking colorful with all the little spools filled in. But the tracker also shows how close to the end of the challenge we are. I am really not ready for this challenge to end. I haven't gotten as many projects completed as I would have liked. I am not saying that 3 completed quilts is anything to be ashamed of.  I am really happy with all of my progress. I just wasn't as realistic about the amount of time I would have to work on projects as I should have been. I didn't factor in things like, family time, family projects, local festivals, church commitments, and travel. When setting my goals I only took work hours into consideration.  Silly me.

Awhile back (at least 20 years ago) I read a post in a decorative painters forum about "Time Busters". The author of the post was cautioning the readers about paying attention to where your time was being spent.  I can't remember who wrote the post, some famous decorative painting designer, but that article stayed with me. The author suggested that we pay attention to where we spent our time. At that time I was spending a lot of time on the computer playing games, specifically Free Cell. That article made me think about what I was doing with my time.

I am not suggesting that we need to set ourselves up on a strict schedule. I know me, I won't stick to a strict schedule. Also life has a habit of getting in the way.  Instead I am trying to establish healthy habits. By healthy habits I don't just mean diet and exercise. (I need to do both). I am talking about doing things that help us be healthy both in body and mind.

For example, I am happier when I take time to create everyday. I am happier when I get spiritually fed by something everyday. My husband is happier when he spends time in nature. My daughter is happier when she gets time to draw. My son likes working with his hands and solving problems.  So healthy habits would be things like setting aside time to do the things that create happiness in our lives. 

Autumn Splendor

Being a creative person, I am a bit of a free spirit and don't handle schedules well.  But I do need to some structure to have the healthy habits. I've talked about my Morning Zen before. I honestly believe it makes a difference in how my day goes. Now if I learn to focus that time on finishing projects I can get things done. But I also need to learn to watch what I am doing with my time.

Do you ever get back from work and just flop in front of the TV. I do. Or how about playing games on your phone. Big time buster for me.  The last week I uninstalled 3 games that were on my phone. (I still have Sudoku on my phone though.) How about social media. I can spend hours on Facebook. Especially reading those stories about revenge or fails or Karen encounters. I need to limit that time as well. (I am trying to not read those stories as I feel it gives me the wrong frame of mind)

Scrappy Joy

All that rambling just to say: Figure out your time busters.  Limit them and set aside time to do what makes you happy.

Progress made this month. AutumnSplendor is completed with label. I will be giving it to my Sister in Law at Thanksgiving. Scrappy Joy is completed and I now know who it is for so I will be gifting it this week. The Great Outdoors will be going on the long arm this week. Large Hexie flowers are completed and are set aside for now. Morning Zen will once again be devoted to Izora's quilt. 

Non quilting progress - Kumihimo Braclet class is slowly moving forward.  Going to have to work in a couple of Wednesday nights for the women to work on them.  Fabric ornament class went well but I need to make more for the Christmas Party center pieces. 

Most importantly right now will be getting ready for our company coming that is coming Thanksgiving week. My studio needs to be cleaned up. I need to get the rest of the house (otherwise known as the disaster area) cleaned up and so much more.  Time to put the time busters in their place and focus.    

What are your Time Busters? When do you do the things that make you happy?