Resolutions, Or Lack Thereof
Heh. It's the last day of January and I'm going to talk about resolutions. Actually, I'm going to talk about how I'm not going to make them. Clearly if you're not going to make resolutions, it really doesn't matter what day you decide not to make them on.
Most of this month I've been trying to decide about the whole issue of resolutions and whether to have them or not. The sad fact of the matter is that I start out with the best of intentions, but I rarely stick to what I've resolved to do at the beginning of the year. It doesn't matter whether I'm resolving to eat better, work out more or pick up a new knitting technique, if I don't feel motivated to do something, or more to the point, I feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task, I just won't really even get started on trying to accomplish it. And then there's the issue of predicting what will be important to me for a whole year. I live firmly in the camp of "life's too short to spend it doing things that make you miserable or don't interest you". So, in general, resolutions made in January are almost forgotten by the time Valentine's Day rolls around. I'm not even going to go back and look at the resolutions that I made last January. I can almost guarantee to you that I accomplished few to none of the things on my list.
But that said, I hate the idea of not trying to set some goals for myself when it comes to knitting and crafting. With that in mind, I decided that I would try a new approach to the whole resolution thing. I would pick one, yes just one, long range goal for the year. At the same time, I would pick one short range goal that fit with what was important to me in the here and now. And once I finished that goal, I would set another goal. That way, I'd always be picking a new goal that was actualy relevant.
The first short term goal for the year was cleaning up my blog front page. I moved all my completed projects out of my WIP list in the side bar into my Gallery (yes, 2006 was a very sock filled year) and I retired the Family Sock Challenge. I have to admit to a lot of guilt about not really wrapping that up in a graceful way. Once again, the best of intentions... But I would like to say thank you for everyone who participated, even if you only participated for a little while. I enjoyed the journey myself and was happy to see that I met that particular goal for the year (I think, perhaps, this is the only 2006 New Years Resolution that I accomplished). Goal Accomplished!
For my next short term goal, I've decided to inventory my stash. I suspect that there's a lot of yarn in my stash that I have completely forgotten about. I'd like to do more shopping from my stash in the future. I'd also like identify yarn that I will likely never do anything with and help it move along it's way into a place where it will get used. Seems like that would be easier if I had an inventory to help me keep track of my yarn. I'm about 2/3rds of the way through this project. So I think success is a possibilty.
On the long term goal side, I've decided to set two, one related to my personal life, and one related specifically to knitting. The personal one is a simple, but important one. I want to end every day with a clean desk. I don't know what it is, but a cluttered desk really clutters my brain. In order for me to accomplish anything, I need to clean my desk. Since I work from home and I also like to design at my desk, I decided that it is time to get my act together and just make it a goal to clean up every night before I go to bed. At some point, there will be photographic proof of this behavior. But it does require that I take the task on tonight...
The knitting goal is also a simple one (and one that I've had before). I'm going to work on clearing out some lingering projects. Either I'm going to finish them or rip them. The project I'm going to start with is a project that I started this time last year: the Stained Glass Scarf from Handknit Holidays
My progress so far?
Now I'm off to start cleaning up my desk!
very admirable and well spoken Theresa. I for one am going to knit from my coffee table until some of the WIPS are out of there...
Beautiful scarf, Theresa - whether it takes a month or another year to complete, John will love it.
BTW, I'm of the "clean desk" school as well. Makes it feel like you've got a fresh start everyday.
I like the way you put it--not resolutions, but GOALS! Its always a tension between doing stuff you love, finishing things, and making something interesting and beautiful. Sometimes it all works; sometimes it does not.
Onward!!
Awesome scarf!!! I have been dreaming of that scarf in those exact colors for so long now...I'd love to get some hints of color such as those around my boy's neck!
I love this scarf and it is on my list for the year 2007, I have some alpaca for it. I have never done double knitting before- so it will be a fun challenge. I'll be watching yours.
:-)
What a great way to look at the new year. I hear you on the clean desk. I always rush out too late to even think about it and the next day starts too scattered. I should work on that one myself. The scarf is very pretty!
Good luck! I think you *goals* are good ones. I also fall into the clean camp, but my desk area at home is a disaster area. Maybe I should take your lead...
great start to the scarf
I'm with you on the lack of resolutions. I don't make them. I never have actually.
I do hope you are able to stick with your goals this year Theresa. Good Luck!
I'm with you on the resolutions. And setting small manageable goals is a very smart go. You get such a sense of achievement from it.
I love those colors. Very beautiful.
The scarf looks great. I love that pattern and have it on my ever growing list of future projects.
Wow, I really like that scarf! I'm going to have to get me Handknit Holidays - I've seen many projects on blogs from that book.
Love that scarf! Oh do finish that up so I can see the pretty results. Sweetie will still need a scarf next winter and you'll be ahead...think of it that way.
I, too, am planning on inventorying my stash. That's a good goal, to see what actually can be used, although it's a might task!
your lack of resolutions is inspirational. after reading your blog, i decided to post about my own knitting goals for the year, as i'm not a huge fan of resolutions.
thanks for the good idea!
Goals definitely are more worthwile than resolutions, and yours sound very worthy indeed! Good luck with all of them!
I absolutely need a clean desk to be able to function. The way I explain it (to myself, at least) is that, if the stuff is in sight, my brain is keeping mental tabs on it--like knowing where the kids are while you're making dinner, or reminding myself that I need to get my laundry from the dryer while I'm making lunch . . . I may not actually be DOING anything about it, but it's taking up mental space. Each stack of papers is like a program running in my mental background. If they're filed away, however, even in a "pending" file in my desk--they're out of sight, and not taking up space . . . either on my desk or in my head! More like having a program installed on the computer, but not running . . . there when I need it, but not taking up any of my resources.
Very nice scarf. HKH is a great book! Sounds like you have clear and realistic goals that attainable. Go T go!
Interesting. I actually LIKE a cluttered desk.
;-)