Timetables.

Those of you who have had the good fortune to know me for … well any length of time, will know I love a list.

I love the sense of feeling organised and focused. It’s also very satisfying to tick things off a list, to see those tasks falling like dominoes.  Sometimes I’ve been known to make lists of my lists which may sound strange or even extreme but it really helps me.

So imagine my joy when I explored the calendar element of my gmail account. I’ve used timetables before and find them incredibly useful for organising myself and staying on target. I’d colour code tasks – commission, shop, studio, Uni etc  – and draw up my battle plan for the coming week. My gmail calendar lets me do this and more. I can still colour code tasks but also set them on repeat for as long as I wish. I can also get it to send me reminds so that I know that I’ve got half an hour left on the current task.

I’ve just done the first week with this new system and love it. Each day I know what I’m doing and because no task lasts longer than 90 minutes which is the maximum length of concentration, I don’t feel trapped. I’m not stuck doing a job all day. It also means that because I’ve got a relatively short time slot, I’ve got to be on it so I get the most out of the minutes. Most importantly, I get to go to bed each night, with a deep sense of achievement. I’ve not just done a thing. I’ve done several things. All of which link together into weekly objectives.

For example this week I’ve played –  I’ve done lots of paper-folding and taken photos and drawn sketches of them. I’ve experimented – I’ve knitted small sample ideas based on those paper-folding sketches and played with stitch structure. I’ve worked – I’ve cast on (and will finish today) a sample swatch for the studio I work for. The sketches have also given me ideas for a second swatch will be one of next week’s tasks.

At the same time I’ve done work for my shop and finished “Hetherington”.

All this and I’ve finished work at 5pm each evening! What’s not to love?

x

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