Every Busy Quilter Should Focus On These 5 Things

You’re a busy quilter, I’m a busy quilter… How often does this conversation play out between you and um… any other person that crosses your path??

“Hey! How are you?”
“Good! But OMG, I’ve been so BUSY!”

I don’t see that adjective, “busy” changing anytime soon, do you? I’m also a super busy mom of 2 kids, a wife, and a business owner… Things can get a little crazy hectic here every once in a while (aka every single day).

So while I have lots of quilting I WANT to work on and usually like 4 (or 400) projects that need finishing… I still have all the regular house stuff and human stuff to do to. Laundry, dishes, shopping, etc It is exhausting and it can feel like there are NOT enough hours in the day.

So how do you keep your sanity without setting your quilting aside for later?

When life gets rough and I want to curl up in a corner with my *good chocolate* (from the stash that my kids don’t know about)… I know its time to focus on the productivity hacks that bring me back to feeling more like Wonder Woman as opposed to Crazy Girl.

And today, I’m going to share them with you!

So you can go from feeling like this:

via GIPHY

To feeling more like this:

Do you know what I mean by just those 2 images? Tell me fellow, busy quilter, that you get me! Please, oh please!

Wonder Woman feeling says “Yes, I can handle this” It is that little kick in the pants that says “I got this”.

I love that. I want to be HER

The 5 things you should be focusing on as a busy quilter

1. Be honest with yourself – Are you taking on more than ONE human possibly can (or should) handle?

This can go for over-scheduling your calendar, too heavy of a load from work or even the number of quilts you’ve committed to making (I joke, that there is no such thing but yes… if it is stressing you out, there most certainly IS such a thing!)

It is perfectly OK to admit that you’re not a super-human hybrid machine. — Even though I like to believe I totally am some days.

It is best to be honest with yourself when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

If your workload is something you wouldn’t expect your best friend to take on, perhaps you shouldn’t take it on your shoulders either.

2. Schedule your quilting time in your calendar

This works 2 ways… either you look up at the clock and realize you’ve been hunched over this quilt for 4 hours and suddenly it is now dark outside and WAY past your bedtime. Oh yeah, and you didn’t get a single other thing done today. Oops.

-OR- You feel like your schedule is so busy that there isn’t a single moment in the day to even think about quilting (*insert crying here*)

Those days are tough, honey. I hear you here.

Schedule your downtime and your quilting time like you do any other event in your calendar! and then, the hard part, stick to it. Set alarms, get a friend to call you – do what you gotta do!

This will ensure that you get the quilting time that makes you feel like you’re making the desired progress on your quilts.

Putting quilting as an appointment in my calendar is seriously the only way I really get to quilt in productive chunks of time vs. tiny 10-minute increments.

Expert tip: Putting on a TV show or a movie is a great way to keep track of time while you’re working on your quilt. Hours can go by so fast when you’re really focused.

3. Always look for the next project that will grow your skills

I’ll admit that I’m not the best at being disciplined enough to finish what I’m currently working on before I start a brand new project.

Even though I really do try to keep my projects to a reasonable number…

I’ve seen other quilter’s project lists and studios filled with WIPs or UFOs. Work in progress or Unfinished objects I know I’m not the only impatient one! – Want to know more quilting slang? check out this post WHAT IS THE QUILTER’S CODE? )

Still, if you’re going to be quilting, you might as well make sure that you’re constantly growing your skills and trying new things!

You can read more about continuing to challenge yourself in quilting. Why you should step out of your comfort zone.

4. Organize What You Have – Including Current Projects

Ever missed a deadline you had? Or had to double up your sewing efforts to finish a quilt on time? Or miscalculated and had to give a quilt late? (*Guilty*, yep, yep, and yep!)

I got frustrated mostly by my own miscalculations. Then, I decided I needed a way to write everything down in a way that kept me organized and made it impossible for me to forget any key parts, dates etc.

What actually happened was I created a handy way to log every single quilt that I made over the period of a year… and wow. Not to pat myself on the back but yes… I totally was patting myself on the back.

It pays to take a look at the larger picture instead of hyper focusing on just one quilt at a time 🙂

You can read more about the FREE 6 Page Planner here or you can simply tell me where to send the FREE download by filling out the little form below! Totally FREE 🙂 My gift of sanity to you, busy quilter!

5. Take Care Of Yourself

(Honestly, I thought about putting this one at the top of my list.) How many times do we tell someone to “take care” but never really give it much more thought than that?

This is my momma-self coming out to give you a little love, ok?

— I promise I’ll keep it short and sweet! —

If an apple tree doesn’t get what it really needs nutrient wise, it still gets to be a tree. It can still make it through another season or so, but it doesn’t produce good fruit.

Do you understand where I’m coming from? The tree doesn’t get to do what it was made to do when it was planted…

….BUT YOU, my sweet beautiful busy quilter, you are so much more complex than an apple tree!

• You need to be loved.
• I want you to laugh so hard you can’t catch your breath.
• You need to spend time on the phone with an old friend to reminisce silly old memories.
• Please consider establishing a self-care routine that you do everyday for YOURSELF because it makes you feel good.
• You need a decent bedtime and perhaps a nap every now and then,
• You need to find a good song. Then, turn it up so loud you can’t even hear yourself sing badly to it.
• Insert whatever geeky/silly dance moves you want to add in too!
• You need to pull out your quilts that haven’t had a good cuddle in a while. Curl up with a book or a movie. You can study your past quilts and see how your skills are improving!
• And you should eat a vegetable every day – there, I said it.

Take care of YOU… because inside you is greatness and the world needs more of it!

Keep being a busy quilter. Keep focusing on these 5 things continue being an amazing quilter that has a good head on your shoulders!

For more ideas on fitting quilting into your busy life, check out my most popular FREE download below!

Happy Quilting!

–Christen