Tuesday, January 15, 2013

You can't eat an elephant in one bite!

As we've got quite a few newbies to our blog and some are worried about how they are going to get through their huge insurmountable pile of ufo's.... I thought I'd send this little excerpt from an early post last year...

"......Now I know a few of you are panicking that you are not able to finish your ufo’s in time each month…..
I thought a couple of organisational hints might help…….
I love Cath’s idea of allocating 12 months to do 12 finishes at most….anything else is a bonus! So……don’t expect to get ALL of your ufo’s done in one year….. as my boss used to say,
“You can’t eat an elephant in one bite!”
elephant sneaking
I like to break this idea down even further……. I created a sort of year overview planner on an A3 sheet and jotted in things in each month that would take my time like birthdays, weddings, births, (where I'd have to make things) or times I'm away (perhaps on holiday), and then fitted in ufo's to suit the space I had available......helped sort things out in my head a little better when I'd juggled it around on paper a bit first.    You see, I'm a bit of a visual person....I like to see it on paper....leave it alone for a while in my head and there's a mad hatter's party going on up there!!!!!
It’s not foolproof as there’s always things that crop up unexpectedly (like sickness and flu), but with a disorganised brain like mine, it helps!
If you think this idea might work for you, you can download a copy of my yearly overview planner here….
My boss also told me……
“if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”!!!! ..........."
 
wise woman she is!!!!
Anyways....hope this helps!
 
Lets continue to 'reach for the stars'
 
Sew many hugs xo
Wendy and Dawn :O)

9 comments:

Fiona said...

Each finish is a goal reached... lets go for one goal at a time...
Hugz

Wendyb said...

Right with you on that one Fiona!! great advice from a seasoned Sew It's Finished'er!!!!!!!!
xox

Cheryl said...

Yes, one UFO at a time. Thanks to Wendy and Dawn we are tackling our piles of UFO's!!!!

Sheila said...

Thanks for your planner I will use this to try to keep me on track :-)

Liz said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Liz said...

One day at a time!i am just trying to get back into regular sewing times!!!:)

Chris H said...

Interesting concept Chick... when I get half a chance I might jot down some sort of 'plan'!
Knowing my luck... it will have to be constantly changed. lol

Chris H said...

ACTUALLY... there is ONE huge project (for me it's huge) ... that I would really love to finish this year.
If I can get it finished I will be a happy girl.

I started a King size quilt for MY BED ... using blue and white Dresden Plate blocks, and using a 'Quilt As You Go' technique I saw on the internet ... but the quilt is still in it's infancy.
I would love love love to finish it.

I have never done 'Quilt As You Go' either... so maybe sometime later on I will be calling out for help!

I have many more UFO's calling out to be finished, but top of the list is another Baby Quilt for the next grandson who is due next month. I started his quilt last year! Once that is done I want to devote my sewing time to getting that big Dresden Plate Quilt DONE, DONE, DONE!

It might take me months!

rubyslipperz1052 said...

You've shared some great ideas! I think breaking things down is so important. I know what you mean too about not writing plans down, I think the Mad Hatter has similar parties in my head! =P

I have soooo many projects in progress that I'd have to write them on a toilet paper roll =P
So, this year I'm trying to just focus on 3 at a time. When I finish one, I had one.

hugZ,
annie