When I realized that all of my projects were long term and taking foreverrrrr to finish, I figured out a way to turn things around, make some dopamine and keep things rolling when things felt hard.
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Finding Myself Unbalanced
* What projects I had going
* Two quilts that I started last year
* baste, quilt, trim, make binding (least favorite) and hand sew the binding
* 2025 goals
* make clothes, both sewn and crocheted
* make a giant quilt (getting that long-armed at least)
* House projects:
* Dining room renovation
* drywall spackled
* prime and paint
* pick out a light fixture
* call electrician to install
* Fix up office/guest room
* paint
* build a custom built in desk
* build a custom murphey bed
* build custom shelving
* style and organize
* buy a new office chair (huge undertaking by itself)
* Rearrange my kid’s room
* swap out dressers
* new art on the wall
* move all lego bricks and sets back to the basement
* expand library shelving or move some books to the family room
* add storage to closet
* General tidying and downsizing
* All of that was on top of my perpetual to-dos
* laundry
* dishes
* cookies
* cleaning
* keeping my child alive
* Even my crossword puzzles take multiple days to finish!
* How I felt
* My brain will run down the list and rearrange priorities all throughout the day
* Obviously overwhelmed 🫠
* Constantly disappointed in myself for not having these things complete already
* Guilt spiral 🌀
Finding the Balance
* How I started to fix it
* Recognize that it’s happening
* Name how it’s making you feel
* Notice how it makes your body feel
* Go touch grass 🌷
* Get a quick win
* Making earrings was my quick win project
* Small projects, easily completed, start to finish, in one sitting
* Get that hit of dopamine!
* Schedule bits of time to work on your big projects
* Maybe it’s obvious, but my pinball brain needs it on the calendar (even if I move it around)
* Break down the big project into all the little parts. Ambiguity will stall any project for me.
* Bake in rewards for making progress
* Cut out all your quilt pieces? Get a donut! 🍩
* Sanded down all the spackle in your drywall? Buy a book! 📚
* Tidied the family room and it’s ready for a new rug? Go wander the thrift store!
* Reframe and Carry on
* Release yourself from any guilt. Finishing a project doesn’t make you morally better than anyone else, just like not finishing it doesn’t mean a garbage person. Rein in your brain. She’s mean.
* Make a list of quick win projects and dopamine generator or dynamo if you will. Keep this where you can access it easily - notes on your phone, notion doc, post-it in your kitchen - so you can pull from it when you need
* Regularly check-in on your goals to reassess and alter if you need.
Links
* Newsletter:https://beckyhelms.substack.com/p/shadow-cats-and-realizations
* Personal Projects Update episode: https://beckyhelms.substack.com/p/19-personal-project-catch-up-with
* Q1 Goals & Panning episode: https://beckyhelms.substack.com/p/14-q1-goals-and-planning-check-in
* Creative Retrospective episode: https://beckyhelms.substack.com/p/6-becky-2024-creative-retrospective
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