I have too many ideas (which I LOVE), too many books (love them too), too much fabric (yeah, love that also), too many blogs (you KNOW I LOVE all 105 of them), but the end result is that when I want to DO something, my mind is too cluttered with a thousand ideas, and I’m left in a directionless, exhausting, and frustrated heap.
I can't be the only one with this problem -- what do YOU do to de-clutter your brain so you can concentrate?
I am a quilter - a retired widow living in the Nebraska Panhandle. I am surrounded by beautiful semi-arid ranch country, and treeless hills and fields under incredibly wide blue skies, located far from the upheaval found often in large towns or cities. I am blessed to have delicious time to quilt and to appreciate my peaceful moments in an unpeaceful world.
How I clean my mind of all the inspiration. I have no idea. The ideas comes all the time and they are swirling in my head. So I just try to sort them in boxes like can wait, shall do now, have to do aso......... LOL
ReplyDeleteWith all the blogs there are so much inspiration and I love it.
I have way too many blogs to read but I cant' bear to give any up as they are so inspiring. I think it would be worse to have no ideas than too many.
ReplyDeletePut everything away except for the few projects that you currently want to work on! I keep running lists of fabric needed to finish a project so that when I do go shopping, I actually come home with something that I can use right away (plus a few goodies for the shelf!). I also keep a 3 ring binder of patterns that I really want to try out - sometimes I stop at 1 block, othertimes I keep going. And, when I am simply too tired to sew, too busy, fresh out of gumption, it is these days that I really appreciate that I have finished some quilts and I take a nap under one.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Evelyn
I am with Evelyn. What I do is clear off my work space. Put everything away. Then I get one thing out and work on that. If I can't see everything else it helps me to concentrate on just one thing. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteIn the past I have worked on several projects at once...2 at the sewing machine, 1 on the quilt frame and one on the cutting table. Fun to keep them all going at once, also a good change up for the muscles/back, etc. BUT, at present the pressures and fragmentation of life are swirling and roiling around me to the point that I, too, have put all but one project away. The ideas and inspirations get printed out on paper and filed for later. Likewise, I had to bite the bullet and subscribe my "favorite" blogs to bloglines which pops up the current posts (mostly current ones), thereby saving browse time. If there is extra time, reading the other lists is a special treat. Hopefully, my life will get back to "normal" again, whatever that is. :-) Meanwhile, that adage, "Simplify," keeps running round my brain.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Linda
I start every morning with no sound. I start a pot of coffee, make some toast and sit down to catch up on email and blogs. Weekdays I only have 15 minutes to do this, but on the weekend I have as much as two hours of solitude.
ReplyDeleteAlso when I'm falling asleep at night I focus on my breathing and slowly breath. I find this helps me clear my mind too.
Sometimes I find prioritizing with a list is helpful . . . but normally in all the chatter inside my head there will be one thing that speaks louder than the rest.
ReplyDeleteI'm of the cleaning-the- sewing-room persuasion - and choosing one project. Sometimes that only works for a day and I'm right back in that same chaotic state of mind. So little time!
ReplyDeleteI could say my mind doesn't take long to clean lol. Seriously just sift through it all and imagine what it would be like to have NOTHING at all.
ReplyDeleteI allocate certain times of the day for doing certain things. Catching up on blogs and emails is for the mornings, during the day is doing house stuff, late afternoon early evening for a bit of sewing/quilting and this can go on into the wee small hours. If I go to bed with too much on my mind I can't sleep so quilting/sewing helps empty the mind of the junk! We should all have a Pensive like Dumbledore *vbs*
ReplyDeleteI taught a class at a senior center the past two Tuesdays and they taught me something! Each time, they would all start out together, but one by one, each would start packing up, and then just sit and visit the rest of the class. They all acomplished a lot but each also realized when enough was enough for the day. It was so refreshing compared to classes where everyone works so hard to reach some unrealistic goal.
ReplyDeleteA blog hint: I read lots of blogs every day but comment only one or two days a month. I am very efficient and try to comment on my favorite blogs (!)every couple of months.
ReplyDeleteSnarky side of me: I also frequent a few blogs where the writers really irritate me. It is almost like I read to see if they are still irritating and I am rarely disapointed. I never leave comments on these. There, you know something bad about me! I waste my time and have bad thoughts about people.
I'm having the same problem and it seems to be getting worse. Maybe because they keep coming out with great new fabric and wonderful books.
ReplyDeleteCleaning any room helps to clear my mind, but I rarely get that desparate! A long walk really helps, too, and is much more pleasant.
This is a good topic, I'm glad you asked the question. I hope a lot more people comment on this.
I sooo relate to your post! I get stuck on here, & then I dont get as much sewing done.
ReplyDeleteInspirations? Yes!
Achievements? not so many!
I think we reach a point where we make a stand, & just go for it!
So many ideas,books,projects... and yes of course blogs :O)...
ReplyDeleteI read all the comments to get some ideas too! LOL I don't have any to give out :O)...
I can tell you I'm in that same boat. It gets so frustrating when I have so many projects that I need to be working on - quilting for others, deadlines to meet with projects and things I want to do just because I want to do them.
ReplyDeleteIf we could just add an extra day to each week or a few more hours to each day!
Elaine, I just go through a cyclical period of looking through books, magazines, and blogs. I find several ideas, save them, then start in on one....or two...or three projects I am currently in a cut-out fabric and kit up stuff mode!! So I have great empathy for your situation!! Luckily, all things change in time, right?
ReplyDeletefrom Juliekquilts
I'm in a similar place right now. What helps me is a list where I can see the various hot projects and set a priority to them. If possible, I will put away the others so they don't distract me. Clutter really stifles my creativity. It's kind of a Catch 22 tho. When I'm being my most creative, I make big messes. Hope you are able to find something that works for you!
ReplyDeleteI have that problem too - it is too easy for me to get side tracked and follow every one else's goals instead of mine. I've stopped subscribing to quilting magazines, although I do check out books from the library from time to time.
ReplyDeleteI just make to make up my own goals - and follow them. Write them down if it takes that - otherwise I've just had one quilt out at a time, so I can just keep working on that.
You're right though - in this day and age of choices, sometimes too many choices can be stifling.
I have the same problem! I schedule times in my day or week that are just for certain things. I love reading, but I only do it at bedtime and one book at a time...usually. And I try to focus on blogs for a certain amount of time and just go straight down the list. The ones I don't get to are first on my list the next day. However, when it comes to quilting... there is no hope for me!!!!
ReplyDeleteI was chatting with a friend the other day and telling her the exact same thing, her response, It's not that I'm ADHD... it's the creativity within... How do I solve the problem, work on the project that either speaks to me or that I'm in love with at the time. No simple soloution.
ReplyDeleteDon't think about tomorrow,enjoy today ! That helps me lot :-)
ReplyDeleteOK, speaking as an aging hippie, I use Qigong. Simplified, it is a combination of body movements and breathing exercises that force my mind to slow down and concentrate on the correct breathing to the movement. Very similar to Tai Chi. Works for me.
ReplyDeleteWalk and walk and walk and.... you get the idea.
ReplyDelete