Friday, November 2, 2012

21 Days... Day 1 Getting Started!

Following the challenge laid out in http://www.servingjoyfully.com/  inspired by the Ebook 21 Days to a more Disciplined Life by Crystal Paine

A day behind...... I spent yesterday pondering the many potential projects for the Day 1 assignment.

I enjoy a challenge, I relish the thought of getting some chores out of my way... and I love the idea of helping myself learn to be a little more disciplined in my work.. whatever it may be.  I learned a long time ago that I do not like the stress of last-minute or crisis work... whether it be cleaning, or errands, or finishing up a crocheted gift.  While I can be spontaneous, like most people, I have a LOT to DO!  And I have trouble both prioritizing and finding time to do things.

Something that really challenges me is getting a nice little pattern going accomplishing tasks... and then life happens.. I have to do something out of sequence, or schedules change, or well.. anything.. find a stray pup, prepare for a hurricane, have a car break down, come home from a vacation... (all of these [and more!] have happened to me in the last 2 weeks).  These things are called LIFE.... they continue to disrupt my most diligent efforts.

But is it LIFE'S fault?  I don't think so.  I think it's me.  I think that I should be in control - not of LIFE - but of ME!  And I'm ready to give this a go.  Worst case scenario?  I get a few more things accomplished than if I didn't try!

So here we are... Day 1... ready to get out of my own way and stop some of the madness!

The assignment?

#1.  Pick a small chore that has been bugging you - and DO it!  The author suggests sewing on a button or tackling a pile of ironing... a "minutes" chore rather than a big one.

#2.  Pick a LARGE chore or project to be completed in 21 days.  Lay out the action in 21 steps and do Day 1

Okay - so you know me... I spent yesterday wandering around making lists.  The 'little chore' list is humongous.... I mean, aren't there a thousand things that could be on this one?  I've already sorted and tossed a pile of papers this morning and will be cutting more jalapenos up to freeze in a little while.  BUT something that has been nagging at me for a few days is weeding my fall crop beds.  With the heavy rains and vacation week, the weeds are getting pretty healthy.  Today I will weed ONE raised bed.  Just one.

The 'big chore' list is problematic.  Already on my list to get back to is my photo scanning project.. but I don't know how to break that down into 21 parts to complete.  I will commit to going back to my original resolution commitment of 30 min per week.  At a minimum then.. with 8 more weeks in the year, I will have 4 more hours into the work and see where that gets me.

Decluttering is a big one too - but not one I can either break down OR see an end to :-) so I am going back to my 10 min per day specific room focus, eventually working my way through the house and yard and back again.  I want this to be a life skill change so there won't be an end.

I thought of a few more ideas but have settled on my quilt.... remember?  the one I keep saying I will finish one day?   Mostly hand sewing left so I keep putting it off.  I am going to take that one and go for it!

So... today's official work?

Weed one garden bed

Hem a long strip on the quilt

Those are 2 things added to my day that I know I can do and that will make me feel good even if I drop this project tomorrow (which I WON'T)

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Recap of Day 1:

So I did get the garden bed weeded - one of them :-)  And discovered that the bok choy has some harvestable leaves that I enjoyed in my lunch salad.

I also wandered around hunting for other small jobs and got a lot of little oddments handled... some that make me smile..  this week's focus is the laundry room.  I haven't done too much in there this week - but I found my (unfinished) rag quilt and dug that out.  A month ago I did the snipping bits and needed to wash and babysit it through the dryer so that the vent didn't explode.... so I worked in the laundry room in 10-minute chunks as the quilt dried.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), when finished, I found that there were spots I didn't snip... so I had to snip those and go through the process again.  So I probably got my WEEK'S worth of laundry room focus done yesterday :-)

And then, I had to hunt down the instructions for finishing the quilt... okay I didn't NEED those today or tomorrow but will soon - and also to create the 21 steps.   So a bit of shifting around and re-sorting and organizing.... and also (humbly) recognizing just exactly how many unfinished projects I have.  I've been working with the crochet ones all year (along with new projects) and it is almost embarrassing.  ALMOST... because I DO love working with yarn and fabric..... but I will definitely continue on the 'finish up' path as I continue to declutter / downsize!

It took a lot longer than I had anticipated to hand-hem the one long strip that was my task for my mega-project.. and I was NOT having fun...  but I did get it done. 

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