Happy Valentine’s, former procrastinators! You toured your house looking for any item that represents an unfinished job – or play or rest. We see incomplete tasks we’ve left to languish at 80%. This week we select a long term project to finish because we have the month to focus on it.
Some things sit out so long we don’t consciously see them anymore. The pile in the corner blends into the wall. We step around the boxes in the garage as if they were part of the construction. Though we’ve become somewhat dulled to their presence, they are irritants. We live with the continual pain and inconvenience they cause. We pay the price of cramped space, a sense of oppression, a fitful mind, a shamed heart.
Sometimes we like to leave a project out because we can easily return to it. We don’t have to set up over and over again. Sewing, scrapbooking, woodworking can be easier if you can just go right to work. If it’s safe to leave things out and not disruptive to the household, that’s a nice privilege. The kicker is not to grow accustomed to having it out while making no progress.
Sometimes a project does disrupt the household, and that’s okay for a while. Taxes spread over the table, costumes for a play, a science project. These don’t sit out indefinitely. We do them and remove them.
Sometimes unfinished projects hide out in a closet or under the bed so we forget them. When you find one, don’t put it back. Finish the item or give it away to a handcrafter or other person who will enjoy what you purchased or started.
Sometimes we shouldn’t finish a project at all. I passed on the fabric purchased for a shower curtain because we don’t need it. There’s no requirement to finish everything you once started. Let someone else finish it for you. There’s a lady who will back your quilt. Or, let those unfinished bookends go. Someone will enjoy what you pass on. You enjoy relief.
If they’re keepers, prioritize your discoveries. Post a list of them where it will truly prompt you. Also write where you have stored each project so you won’t forget again -and so they are removed from your everyday path. Then work your way down the list. Frame the needlework. Return the manuals.
Finishing or eliminating unfinished long term projects gives us a sense of accomplishment and relief. We can enjoy the actual the product, plus be pain free and available, enjoy open space, a sense of freedom, a peaceful mind, a quiet heart.
I choose to finish the photo project I set up months ago. I knew I couldn’t complete it then, so I went as far as I could, sorting and organizing. Now those stacks are dusty. I want to make small photo albums for my brothers and us using photos from my parents’ home. Hold me to reaching 100 percent!
What long term project will you complete this month?
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