How to be productive

I'm so sorry to everyone for switching the dates around for the Virtual Retreats! I had to because I'm away this coming weekend, and the same is true for November. I could let you all have fun having a virtual retreat without me, which I've had to do occasionally, but if I can switch it, I will. I try to give advance notice, but I don't think I did for October. 

Someone gave me a Waterpik challenge—I need to get one first. But I will let you know that I flossed my teeth last night, even though it was in the middle of the night. Before I go there, let's start at the beginning. 

Hmmm --- someone alerted me to this yesterday, and I watched the video this morning. While we think AI is cool (and I think it's fun), it takes ENORMOUS amounts of computer power and WATER. And the big three, among others, are building massive data centers that require lots and lots of water to keep cool. Have a listen to this video. It makes you think!! I did note one thing at the end --- a search engine search for something requires less computing power than asking AI. I may keep my AI to a fun-only level at this point. 

I got a lot accomplished yesterday—not as much as the previous day, but still, I'm on a roll. I got the binding on ALL of these quilts. Now, it's only on one side at this point, but I had to make a lot of binding and then add it, so I figure the second part of the binding process will be faster. 

The binding is attached to the quilts

And YES --- that flannel is OLD. I bought yards and yards of the darn stuff, and why? I've no idea. So thanks to Diane, she cut it up and made MANY quilts from it. There are still more quilts to be quilted, but my goal this year is to get these ones done and out of the house. Then I can deal with the ones to be quilted - I believe there are fewer than 10, and then I have a couple of baskets of scraps to deal with. It would be so nice to say that I do NOT have any flannel in my house, but we are far from that! 

I still have about three or four yards of the diagonal stripe that I'm using for the bindings, so I'll keep on quilting! I noticed when I folded this up to put away that there was a hole!!!! I must be mindful of that when I make the next binding. So far, I haven't seen holes in any of what I used. 

A hole in my binding fabric

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When I was done sewing for the day (2 PM), I packed all my supplies back onto that tray by the sewing machine. My table is nice and clear, so when I return home, it's ready to stitch those bindings. 

My sewing station is immaculate

Someone asked how I can get so much done in a day. Well, I believe a couple of things are responsible for that. I try very hard to keep my sewing areas clear. There is NOTHING on this sewing table, except my tray of enders and leaders and my basic sewing tools. Why keep tools by the machine that I don't need for this project? So, only what I need is there. Plus, I keep the accessories for the sewing machine on that tray (in a metal box) as well because I may need to change the foot or whatever. Any OTHER feet than what came with the machine are in a drawer and go back into that drawer when not in use. 

So that's another thing that helps me get things done. Everything has a home; when I want something, it's a simple matter of labeling it. No time is wasted trying to find things. 

When I have a few down minutes, I am thinking ahead and see what I can do with one minute or five minutes. For example, when I needed to find backing for a quilt top, I quickly measured the quilt and made a quick calculation as to the yardage needed. Then I went to the stash room, where all my backings are folded and labeled with the quantity. Scanning the shelves where the backing fabric is stored was easy, and within that short five-minute downtime window, I had the perfect color and size for the next quilt. 

What else do I do to increase productivity? I haven't watched TV—whether that be network TV or streaming TV—in over fifteen years. I have to chuckle because during Monday sewing or Virtual Retreat, I hear the chatter—Oh, are you watching "x show" or "y show?" and I'm not watching any of it. I have no idea what they are even talking about. I watch stuff occasionally on my computer, but it's usually an instructional video or something that piqued my interest, not an ongoing series. I do occasionally, but it's so rare that I can't even remember the last time I watched a series of something. 

It's not that I don't want to watch; I have zero interest in sitting in front of a screen. Says I, who is sitting in front of a screen as I write this! No -- my preference is to READ, not watch. And to keep me entertained when sewing, I may or may not have the radio on or be listening to an audiobook. I can be super productive listening, but only when the project at hand is simple, like applying binding. When it comes to more formidable challenges, I need dead silence! So I can focus and not make mistakes. And I have zero issues with being alone. I could sew or be home alone all day and am pretty happy. I LIKE myself!!! 

Not only am I trying to keep my sewing table clear, but the ironing station needs to be clear as well. If I have to constantly move things in order to do something, that is not being productive. That goes for the cutting table as well. Thankfully, I have a large one, so often things get left on one end, but my goal is to attempt to keep that clear. Yes -- I see three small things on there - one is the fabric I pulled for the backing of that quilt I mentioned earlier, which I will make happen when those quilts are bound. A small repair job for DH, and a small tote bag. So the plan is to grab one of those once the bindings are done and get them done. 

The cutting table is in good shape

All of my "current projects" or "current UFOs", however you wish to call them, are piled HIGH on these two tables. There is a third table in the room as well. The goal is to pull ONE at a time and make it happen. There's no need to make a mess on any other table than this one. After I removed the final quilt that needed binding, I moved all the stuff for the jacket class onto this table. Once I'm home, I'll be able to take some photos of some of the stuff and put it away.

My "current" project table

In an ideal world, nothing new will be added to these tables until I see some progress!!! HEY—I've already made giant leaps and bounds of progress. That is a huge stack of quilts that I'm processing. You can see my ring of inner houses on the design wall in the back (Colour My World). Three quilt tops are in partial completion on the wall, and they really need to be addressed before I attempt to add anything else there. 

And the other thing that I'm doing, which is going to help a lot—NO NEW projects. Seriously? I've got so much on the go, how do I dare even think about adding a new project? I have minimal room to "hide" this stuff away, so the only hope is to get it done. 

So, to recap, how do I get so much done in a day? And trust me—this kind of day doesn't happen too often, but now that I have a reduced schedule, I hope it happens more often. You may need to do things slightly differently, but this works for me. 

1. Keep your main workstations clear—the cutting mat, the sewing table, and the ironing surface. Nothing should be on them except the tools you need for that job. These are NOT storage areas. If you have to move something in order to work, that's a huge red flag!

2. Remove everything that is a distraction in your space. Be that a screen or a pile of projects—whatever is the main distraction. Put it away. Some people would find these tables a distraction, so you could cover them with a pretty quilt. But DO NOT forget about what's under them!!!

3. Plan. I often think about what I will do that day before I get out of bed. Some people do that the night before, but I already know what I will do when I hit the sewing space. And if you only have one or two projects, it's easy to know what needs to be done. 

4. Focus. This goes along with planning. Stop starting new projects just because it's cute or your friend is doing it. Get YOUR stuff done -- what do you want to accomplish!!! 

5. Don't overload yourself. Yep, our eyes are just as big when we go shopping as when we look at the buffet. BE REALISTIC—you can't do it all. 

Also, remember that I do not have an ailing parent who lives close to me. My only child lives on the other end of the country, so I do not get many family interruptions. When I need to get in touch with my family, it requires time, like flying out and spending time with them, but I still have phone calls, and there is that never-ending paperwork to deal with. Much of it is admin relating to my freelance jobs, so the amount can go up or down depending on what's happening.  

And having said that, yesterday was a travel day. I did something I hadn't done in eons, and that was to take the last flight out, especially going west. The flight was at 10:30 PM, which is way past my bedtime, so I was tired. While I managed to sleep some on the plane, it wasn't a good sleep. The airport was practically empty, and I walked through, checking my luggage and security in mere minutes. There wasn't even a line-up at Tim's. 

What? No line-up at Tim's

I do have one major issue with myself and travel. I leave everything to the last minute. While I had booked my ticket a while back, I had NOT booked a car or a hotel. Imagine my surprise when all the hotel rooms were sold out! All of them, except in the sketchiest hotel in the sketchiest part of town. I passed on that. Apparently, there is a RODEO in North Battleford and the dates coincide exactly with my trip!

Hmm—what to do? Could I crash on someone's sofa? That's not really the best, so then I thought of Airbnb. And yes, there are a couple of them in town. So I booked that, which was another story I'll share another day. 

I planned to pick up the car in the morning at the airport because I didn't think they would still be open so late, but they were open, so I rented the car last night for an additional $30. 

And when I got to the car, this is what I found. UGH

FROST!!!!

Yep—that's frost. It was minus 2 last night, which I knew would be the weather when I arrived. And I love seeing these outlets at the hotel, just in case—it gets super cold!!!

An outlet for your block heater - just in case! 

There is a store at the airport that sells Blue Jays (baseball, in case you don't know) merchandise. I did not buy anything, but perhaps I should have. 

Selling baseball merchandise!

We were barely in the air when I heard a couple of quiet hand claps, so that must have been the point when Springer got the three-run homerun. I didn't know for sure if they won until landing. 

I'll never forget where I was when the Blue Jays got into the World Series in 2025. Like I remember back in 1993, I was living in Brampton at the time (or it could have been 1992), and I was ironing Halloween costumes for my Little Sister (Big Sister). I also remember being on a plane to Vancouver the day that President Reagan (March 31, 1981) was shot. 

I see it's minus 4 outside this morning. Yeah!!! 

One last story before I go. When I arrived at my hotel room (I have a room in Saskatoon for one night), I had an hour and a half drive ahead of me and didn't want to do that last night. Anyway, I got into my room and I could hear beeping. Good grief - what is that? OH - the alarm clock is beeping. So I shut it off, or so I thought, flossed my teeth, and hopped into bed. Only to be jarred by the beeping again. Good grief - I only hit the snooze button. 

I did something to the clock and then went to sleep. My phone has two alarms, and when both go off, I easily silenced them (vibration only) by touching the appropriate button on my watch. Then I was back sleeping when the alarm went off again on the clock. Even when it was unplugged, it had a battery backup! 

I will need a nap this afternoon, there is no doubt about that! 

On that note, I'm out of here!!!! 

Have a usper day!!!

Ciao!!!