Rotation

When I was working on my dissertation, I was sent to a therapist for an unrelated problem. I didn't want to talk about that one, so I hijacked the sessions to discuss what I perceived to be the source of all human stress. As we were talking, it became clear to the therapist, and to me too, that I was much further along writing the book than I thought. I was constantly undermining my achievement; still do, really. I'm not a "glass-half-full" kind of person; I'm a "you call that a glass?!" kind of person. If you want to know what will go wrong with anything you are trying to do, I'm the person you want to talk to.

As loyal readers know, I have a tendency to focus on what I am not working on (the afghan) [that's a cool word to type, "afghan"--three of the letters are right in a row] rather than the successes I have had. You also know that I am buried under a mound of UFOs. The therapist suggested making a list of chapters and pages written (and work to do) on each one. At that point I think I had 130 pages written with two chapters exactly the way I wanted them. It still took a while to finish, but I had a more accurate sense of it all. I've decided to make a list of the UFOs and where I am with each. I've done the latter part with photos. I'm still working on getting pictures of each one, but at least the ones that are actively in the rotation are on there.

When I look at the list, it makes it easy to see that I'm making progress--I've completed 1/3 of the projects that I have heaped in a basket next to my stitching chair. I'm actively working on 5 more--not quite another 1/3 but close enough for government work. It makes me breathe a sigh of relief. It's not like I want to be finished with all of them, but I think it would be better if the pile weren't so large. I couldn't work on just one project at a time, but how many is too many? What should I aim for before I begin a new project? I have two that are really burning a hole so to speak. I'd like to make a going away present for my boss who is leaving. I also want to make something for the Dude for our (approaching) third anniversary. I was thinking of Be Thee Mine--I do have it kitted up in anticipation.