How to get organized in life and in your knitting

I had a wonderful conversation this morning with Ciara Conlon - I've been telling anyone who stands still about how Ciara's book, Get Organized - Do more in less time, has changed my life. Well, is changing my life. I still have a long long way to go, but at least I have a map now!

You can watch the video here on YouTube, Ciara talks about how getting organized starts with effective goal setting. We have quite a discussion about how goals change and whether it's okay to abandon goals that really don't serve you anymore. But she warns that it's not okay to abandon a goal just because the going gets tough.

I think that's really good advice, and an important distinction.  I always advise you not to waste time on a project that you really don't want to do,.  Whether it's, as Ciara said, a color you don't like, or a yarn you don't enjoy working with.  It's not your job.  It's a hobby, and if you don't even want the thing you're making, and you don't enjoy the process, then you should probably let it go. I wrote about this last year, I think it was.  

On the other hand, it's not okay to abandon a goal or a project that you do want to complete simply because the going gets tough.  We've all been there.  A great sweater is too hard, too fiddly, or too boring, and we set it aside for the bright and shiny new project that's fresh and exciting.

There's a discipline required to power through the rough spots, whether it's in our knitting, or in our life.  Our world is filled with times that are challenging or boring, or distasteful.  And we can't always just quit and move on.  

But we can take a break.  We can think on it for a while, with sincere self reflection and honesty.  The answer will come. While we're wafting, I think I'll knit a quick little hat.  

Warmly,

Ellen