The Fold: 3 Tips for Keeping That Ish Together. Sorta.

Suggested pairing for this week's issue: Binaural Beats on Spotify​

Above: I'm wrapping up a bunch of new quilts, and I look forward to sharing those with you soon!

Yup, it's still January. I still have some of that clean sweep, tidy up, tabula rasa energy, so I'm putting it to use. (Related: a list of reasons NOT to make New Year's resolutions.) In this issue, I'm going to share some tools that help me keep my ish together ...sort of.

Tip 1: It'll Never Be Perfect

Give yourself grace in all things.

Tip 2: Project Management with a Kanban Board

​Kanban is a cool name for a system where you can move multiple projects around, depending on what needs to be done next and who needs to do it. I use it for managing the multiple quilts that I always seem to have in progress. I have a magnetic white board, index cards, and magnetic card holders. (The card holders are just like what you see on grocery store shelves - magnetic sleeves where you can slide a card in or out.)

Each quilt gets a card. Each card lists all the steps needed to complete a quilt. Not every quilt needs every step, but I like to be thorough. I created this card template, and I have them printed 4 to a page onto cardstock (regular paper is a tad flimsy), then cut them apart. If you'd like your own copy of this PDF, I'd be happy to email it to you.

I can also slot in regular index cards if I want to handwrite a different type of project list. Since I currently work solo, I don't depend on digital project management tools that would be shared with a team. (But I'd love to get there someday... soon!)

The kanban board after I've taken everything down in order to start fresh.

The kanban board after I've put back the projects that are most important.

The actual kanban board on the actual day that I'm writing this newsletter. See, there's no such thing as a perfect system. Remember what we said about grace?

Tip 3: Pen Holders

I would not have expected these little things to change my life in such a big way. Here's what they do: they stick to the inside cover of your notebook, and hold a pen. That way you're never without a pen when you go to write in your notebook. That's it. But dangit if these haven't made my life noticeably easier.

Sometimes these don't stick where I put them, like if my notebook has plastic covers. In those cases, I stick them onto the last paper page.

My calendar gets two pen holders, because I use a highlighter for appointments.

snippet.the-socials

Bonus Tip: Meditation

A lot of us are working to cultivate healthy habits (me included). I've managed to maintain a (nearly) daily meditation practice for the past couple of years. I love the Insight Timer app, but there are lots of others. Of course, you don't need an app to sit quietly, but if it helps you, use one. Remember what we said about grace?

I made myself a meditation rule: The first five minutes don't count. That's an arbitrary amount of time. For you it could be one minute, or 30 minutes, or 30 seconds. That's how long it takes my body to quiet down. I build a pillow fort around myself, usually lying down, and shove pillows under all the places where I need extra support. I set a timer for five minutes, and just breathe. And fidget, and scratch itches, and yawn, and burp, and think about all the things. And then go back to breathing. Without being mean to myself. Because being mean doesn't help, and the first five minutes don't count. Then I go on to a guided meditation or whatever.

I hope these tidbits are helpful for you in some way. Got any killer productivity tips to share with me? I'm always open!

Since I'm following along with the 2023 Studio Declutter Challenge from Just Get It Done Quilts with Karen Brown, my studio should be a lot more presentable a week from now. Shall we take a little tour then? Let's do.

A GIF For Those Who Read This Far

File that for me, would you?

See you next time,
xoxo Sarah

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