Procrastination

Hi so this is my first attempt at a post. I am struggeling with procrastination and many unfinished projects please tell me how you deal with this problem if its a problem for you is it maybe because i have too many patterns and cant decide which one i want to start?

Marty109

Try to finish one thing. If you knit , knit one row. If you sew do one row of stitching. I suffering from too many patterns and not enough time. I cant decide on anything it seems! Once I finish something I usually feel better.

KimmiBella16

Thank you Marty it is easier to break down the "task" into smaller tasks Im suspecting its a form of adhd as I get so overwhelmed or maybe Im infected by the too many children diseas.. oh well I try I end up moving the crochet with me all over the house and it ends up getting dirty by the time I get to the end..

kamoopsipooh

Im an ADHD crafter.  Im always bouncing around from one craft to the next.  Right now, its crocheting and knitting.  Its very hard for me to stay focused, so I choose small projects like hats.  But when it comes to amigurumi, I like the "artist" ones.  Sometimes those take a long time for me.  It hurts my hands and I have to take breaks from them, Ill pick up the knitting needles and make a hat.  I find knitting to be easier on the hands.  I will put the project somewhere in the way so that I remember to finish.  But I am the queen of procrastinating.  I spend more time looking for the next pattern Id like to make.  LOL  

coffee-holic

Its a phase, at least it was my case. I hoarded patterns, then tried to make everything at once, but sadly (or luckily) Ive got only 2 hands. So. What I did - I reviewed all the current projects, frogged all I didnt feel like making, and started anew. And I try to stick to one project at a time. Maybe 2 - one to knit on the way to work, one big - at home.

Good luck figuring YOUR own way of managing projects ^_^

And main thing, enjoy your crafts  

MissPriss

I will keep a project near specific areas - for instance, I have a car project (that stays in the car), a desk project that sits in my home office so I can knit while Im reading through documents (note: I would only do a project in your office area if its a mindless knit and you can knit without looking at your hands or really having to think of it - I would never do a crochet or embroidery project in this area, because it would feel like a chore and distract from whatever work Im trying to do), a television knit (same issue as with office - I want something relatively mindless so I can still watch TV), and then a more complex project for when I feel like really losing myself in the project.

I try never to have more than 5 projects going, through.

I used to have too many projects going, and it was really easy to misplace projects. I think theres a point where you can feel like your hobby becomes a chore. When it hits that point, I think its good to take a break, prioritize your projects, and start finishing existing WIPs. When I hit that point several years ago, I focused on finishing the easy/short WIPs first, then moved to the bigger stuff. I put a moratorium on starting new projects until I got things to a point where I didnt feel anxiety about it anymore.

For knitting, I find a lot of knitters will mostly finish a project, but they dont like doing any of the finishing work (seaming, burying yarn ends, blocking, etc), so a project that could be finished in less than a day sits for months because they just dont want to do it. I think having a hard and fast rule that you cant start a new project until you finish an existing project saves a lot of frustration in the long run. People miss out on months of wearing a project because they dont want to spend an hour or two doing the "not fun" part.

Brace yourself, Im going to share a hot take!

I also no longer make things as gifts for people; I only knit for myself. This greatly cuts down on the number of projects I have going, and it removes deadlines. This has been a great quality of life improvement, and to be honest I think a lot of crafters overestimate how much non-crafters will appreciate their work. I know a lot of people from my crafting circles that make gifts for other people, and it damages their relationships and their appreciation of the hobby when they feel the recipient doesnt treat their gift with the appropriate gravitas. (And to be fair to recipients, a lot of times theyre gifted something that isnt in their style or doesnt suit their lifestyle, and I think its an awkward place to be in when someone gives you something that they spent a lot of time making and you feel obligated to wear it or use it, when its not something you would ever choose for yourself.)

stockingstitch

I think it is more common to get stuck halfway through a project than it is to have no trouble with finishing it. I definitely have too many to choose from to start with. MissPriss has some very good advice. I am starting fewer projects before the last one is done, and doing smaller projects in between when I am fed up with a bigger one I am doing. That way I can gain a little perspective and then get back to the harder project when I am done with the smaller one.

Lanoline

I have also unfinished projects : some are waiting for seing, some are failed, some need a little repair. The common point of this unfinished projects is that they take me much brain concentration. Im trying to take time on this objects at satursdays morning. I cant each satursdays morning, but some UFO became Finished Objects. Have a nice day :)

BlueTanager

I also start plenty... and then they sit around for a while. I am now doing a tiny bit of each almost everyday (but if I really dont feel like touching something for the day I dont. To me its very important to not force boundaries much or the burnout comes very quickly).
To me projects get much easier to "keep going" when theyre near the end tho. And seeing the project unfolding helps keeping me engaged

So I found out that things like blankets, rugs and similar starting from the center can be a bit too painful, as they "slow down" as you go with rows getting bigger and bigger. I still do those but I dont beat myself if they take really long to finish.

Granny squares tend to be a favourite of mine. Easy, quick and I have something "fully finished". Making those in between more slower works also boost my morale :D