I'm finished!

Finished you say. Finished what?

It's Motivational Monday today - although it's technically the second Monday of the year, it's more like the first. Who would have anything to report on the very first day?

I'm thrilled to report that I have THREE official finishes to report this morning. Bindings are on, the label is in (I'm just using that little insert label these days and for these magazine quilts). One is already on it's way to a photo shoot. The other two had their photo shoot at my house yesterday. Sorry, can't share any of them with you this morning. But at some point.

I've started a folder where I keep the other pictures for my blog for those finishes so at some point I can post all the pictures. Now, these are not difficult projects and nor are they supposed to be. One was a lap quilt and the other two were wall hangings at 37 by 51 each so not huge, but not a mini quilt either.

I'm even happier to report that there are TWO more that just need the sleeve hand stitched down. I was hoping to have those two done this morning, but I was tired last night and couldn't finish the stitching. Those two wall hangings are the same size as the other two. They will need to be photographed by tomorrow and then those two will be finished and written in my book. Yes, in addition to the photographs, I'm writing them in my book.

I'm right back to where I was before - rush - rush - rush! But at least, I don't have a day job to get in the way! There are a few more that need to be finished this week so there is no time to rest.

As a result, I've been madly highlighting the finished tasks in The Task Master. She's happy - I'm happy. The only thing is that I haven't had a lot of time to work on the UFOs, but that's OK. This next week is wicked and then the pressure goes away as my long arm will be gone for a couple of weeks.

So how about you?

It looks like a good many of you have created your Dirty Dozen list. That's an awesome start to the year. Now, do you have a plan to make advances in those projects or even working on your regular programs? That means breaking down the project into small increments or tasks that can be easily accomplished.

I usually take some time on the weekend to reflect my upcoming week. How much time is available to me, that week, to work on my projects? Then I look at any quilts with deadlines or those UFOs from the Dirty Dozen. Write down only those tasks you want to accomplish that week. Also important - only write down what you have time for. The point of this exercise is to make us much more accountable for our time and to be realistic.

If you didn't accomplish all the tasks from one week, you need to look at that the next time you sit down with your lists. Did you put too much on the list? Did something unexpected get thrown into your week? Were you not as motivated as you thought you would be? There is no right or wrong to this - it's trying to work to OUR schedule and make us accountable for what we say we will do and also to open our eyes to make us more aware of how much time it takes to accomplish certain tasks.

I do NOT rewrite the tasks that I didn't accomplish from that week. I leave them unhighlighted and it's easy to flip back to those unfinished items. You can choose to rewrite if you want. I hate writing and that just wastes time so I leave them. But when I do get the task accomplished, then I go back and highlight it. Keep in mind that if there were a lot of items not done in one week, don't add a whole pile more to the new week. You should try to finish the other ones first. Again - it's all about YOU and how you want to run The Task Master or should I say, how you will let The Task Master run your life!

I have used this system for the last year and I'm finally thrilled to have found something that allows me to focus a wee bit more, I feel accomplished when I get a task done and I can't forget things!

On that note, I'm out of here!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!