Progress, not perfection

 

The table runner that I used to teach myself three different quilting methods;
it is full of mistakes and makes me happy every time I look at it

The number of tasks I aspire to get done every day may be objectively ridiculous. I don’t know, and one of the things I have struggled with throughout my life is feeling as though I’m not doing enough, no matter how much I do. Also that I don’t have enough time, even on days where I have no commitments and 16 unfettered hours stretch out before me. If I spend too long on any one thing (hyperfocusing), I start to get anxious that I’m falling behind on something else.

To combat this, I’ve developed a lot of routines that involve spending 10-15 minutes focusing on a bunch of different things (microtasking). This is usually pretty effective; I may not finish whatever task I’ve allocated to that small chunk of time, but I will at least move it forward. And it’s an ongoing surprise to me how many things I can substantively complete in a focused 10-minute session.

This method is a helpful way for me to circumvent procrastination (I’ll just do 10 minutes on that thing I don’t really want to do) and decision paralysis (I don’t have to prioritize one thing, I can focus in turn on each of these things that seem equally important). It also helps me get past my own perfectionist expectations, and focus on the process rather than the rush to get it done. Even I recognize that the chances I can turn out a finished product of any kind are slim to none. But I can get one step or one seam or one sentence done. And if, horror of horrors, I do make a mistake, I can step away, focus on something else, and fix it in the next session.

Sometimes I get frustrated by microtasking, because I feel like my progress in any given area is so slow. But occasionally I get a tangible reminder that little by little, the steps, seams, sentences, sessions do add up (see above).

This is a useful analogy for any area of life, especially the ones where results might not be so material (no pun intended). The important thing, I am learning one day at a time, is to keep going, keep learning, keep doing and making.

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