Tuesday, November 16, 2010

WFMW: Breaking up a Task

So, as a mom, I struggle, like many of you, to actually accomplish some bigger tasks. I say, "Oh, I'll do that on my day off in a month..." and then, the day arrives, and I have too many other  things on my plate.

While I can't claim I've done this for a long time, and it truly works for me yet, I am hopeful, but I have a new strategy.

Here's my scenario: I have two cute aprons that I am making and a photo collage replicating something my father-in-law already has and loves (it will involve scrapbooking too) for relatives for Christmas, and all of this also needs to be shipped in time.

Well, you could tell me, with a little one at home, perhaps I should just buy gifts instead, but I really want to make them. The problem is the time (or rather, time when my little one is asleep and can't feel the desire to want to use my sewing machine or cut pieces of my scrapping paper).

What I am trying, instead of doing it all in one sitting, is to do about an hours worth of work on the project after my son has gone to bed, and work on it night-by-night, or every other night until it is accomplished. Sure, I have to get things out and put them away each night, but, I guess that is just part of being a responsible parent. I think starting mid-November will work too, because I have enough days before I need to ship them.

I'm actually almost finished with the aprons after just two sittings of an hour each: one at nap time Saturday and one last night. It is nice too, because it is not too overwhelming all at once and I can figure out how to best use my time (do all the ironing of pieces at once, or things of one color).

What works for you to get everything done for the holidays?
For more, see We're That Family.

3 comments:

  1. Great strategy! It also works for housecleaning and decluttering. One thing at a time, no need to overwhelm yourself. It's much easier to clean my house if I clean the bathroom mirror here, sweep the kitchen there, put one basket of laundry away, etc. Much less intimidating, and things still get accomplished!

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  2. Slow and steady wins the race! I rarely finish things in one sitting--mostly because I have a lot of projects going on at once. But every picture you crop, ever row you stitch, every little bit you paint is a step towards a finished project. You're doing it the right way, especially having a little one at home. Trying to do it all at once will only wear you out!
    A non-crafty thing I'm doing this way is tearing up the rug in my office. I started this morning and cut out a big section of it. I will do a little at a time, and leave pulling out all the staples in the floor to my kids. I hope to have it completely done within a few weeks. It's a lot easier this way than waiting for a 'free afternoon' to do it all!

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  3. I use this strategy in lots of things that I do it works rather well

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