A lesson I’ve been learning over and over recently is that things always take longer than you expect. At the time, saying ‘yes’ doesn’t seem like such a big deal, but after a while all those ‘yeses’ add up and I find that I don’t have the time I thought I did. Couple that with a propensity to wait until the last minute (mostly because I think I have more time than I do) and you can imagine my dilemma. Try as I might, my way is not working so I’ve resolved to find a better way.
With all that in mind, I’ve decided, as I go into the new year, I’m going to add 15 minutes to every hour I think a project will take. And I’m going to put a deadline date of two weeks prior to when I actually need to be done. The benefits will be less stress all round, more enjoyment, more wiggle room for unforeseen mishaps and better future planning.
Case in point: I was planning to have a tutorial ready for you guys today for a reversible, adjustable apron – much like the one I made for Mike. But I need one more day to fine tune some of the details and make it into a tutorial you could actually follow. It’s been like Santa’s workshop around here lately and I’ve been keeping a frenzied pace that threatens to ruin my holidays if I’m not careful. Here’s a sneak peek of the material I chose for my Christmas apron.
In the meantime, I’ll leave you with what’s happening.
Currently I’m…
- opening my heart and mind to adopting new habits. Habits that work for me and not against me.
- ordering Christmas presents on Amazon. I love Amazon.
- continuing with my commitments while trying to maintain my sanity.
- appreciating the time I have to create and make.
- scattering Santa Clause’s and ornaments all over the house. I love decorating for Christmas.
- loving the gifts I’ve chosen for family and friends.
Do you have any solutions for the procrastination/unrealistic time management issue?
I’m still so excited about the Advent Calendar. And I’m really happy you’re still walking us every day even though you’re going a little bit bonkers with all your projects.
While Walking My Dogs 
My solution is also to wait until the last minute! And then stay up until 3am writing a paper. Not a great solution yours sounds better. Though I do find that getting myself away from distractions is helpful, like going to a library.