The last few times I’ve begun writing a post here I’ve felt the need to mention that “it’s been a while since I wrote….” and it happened again yesterday when I realized how much time has passed. I’ve been feeling like I’m so “far behind” on sharing news and photos here. But am I really?
I’ve been in the process of setting goals for 2020, thinking about projects I want to make, classes I want to teach, business ideas, how to tie everything together into some kind of do-able package and make it all work, and in all of that I’m realizing the amount of pressure I put on myself – we put on ourselves – to at least try to meet expectations that gradually accumulate based on what other people are getting done. To quote another young lady with whom I was discussing the various advice we get about online business development: posting too often = bad, not posting often enough = also bad. There are many throw your hands up in the air moments.
“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
I suppose the end of a year and beginning of a new one always has some kind of effect on our brains. It’s just moving from one day to another day, it’s not like the world stops and changes direction or anything; it’s psychological and it’s been emphasized for so many years with the various inquiries about our resolutions that’s it’s become a way of thinking. I try to avoid the whole thing in general because I think if you decide you need to make a change you should just make it, whenever the need arises. But still, sometimes it makes me think.
The world is changing so fast and I used to pride myself on being able to keep up but that is no longer the case. I’ve nearly maxed out my capacity for grasping technology and I’m accepting my limitations. That doesn’t mean I’m giving up on learning new things! It just means that I’m recognizing there are things I either A) need to get help with if they’re important enough to continue or B) let go of altogether if they’re not serving me well, and especially if they’re keeping me from doing what I love to do.
Accepting my limitations also means adopting a “do what I can when I can” strategy, within reasonable guidelines of course, because any kind of business or personal development requires some accountability, even if only to ourselves.
So the feeling that I need to start blog posts with a mention of how long it’s been between them is an indicator for me that I’m at a point where I either need to get help with them, let them go, or relax with a do what I can when I can approach. It is the latter I have chosen. I enjoy sharing my quilting journey, projects, humour, and general crafting fun with others! And there are various ways for me to do that.
Not everyone uses Facebook or Instagram and some people still prefer to read and follow blogs like this one. However, I can tie certain things together that make it easier to share across platforms, in order to “do what I can, when I can” and not leave myself feeling “behind” on any given day, as if there were some arbitrary requirement I failed to meet.
Sometimes you will get a longer post with details and humorous content and maybe something philosophical like this one. Other times you might just see a linked group of photos from my Instagram feed to show you a newly finished quilt, because I want to stay in touch and include my blog readers in the social media posts I share. I am trying to expand my online presence in ways that my brain can handle and hope you will still appreciate and find useful and helpful content in whatever I share going forward.
I’m currently setting up a bullet journal/planner system – fun, because I love writing things down with cool markers and decorating pages, but also practical for organization! – and seriously considering the projects and activities I want to incorporate into my year, including a balance of the day to day routine, the classes, the “just for fun”, the necessary business focus and the “let’s give this a try and see how it goes because it’s out of my comfort zone” stuff. You will see the ones that turn out and maybe some that don’t! And there’s a solid purposeful plan for a particular elephant quilt that will be written down with permanent markers, so this time next year it will either be hanging on a wall in my house or have a line drawn through it in my planner because I gave up after an honest effort LOL But I will make an HONEST effort. Step 1: planning and ordering the fabric 🙂
For today, here are a few shares from my Instagram feed to show you what I’ve been up to this month. I’ve been very busy quilting which left much less time for writing posts, and I’m choosing not to carry forward into the new year things that make me feel behind! LOL! If you’re reading this on your phone, use your finger to swipe across the photos to see more views. If you’re on your computer, you should see little arrows to click for more. The first is an update on the charity quilt project I organized – the goal of 10 quilts was met and we actually had 11 to give to the men’s transition house for Christmas 🙂
Happy New Year and best wishes to all!
Ann Walsh Quilting 
Beautiful quilts! Happy New Year to you. I hope you achieve all of your goals for 2020.
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Thanks so much and Happy New Year to you as well 🙂
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This was great to reead
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