Life seems to me to be a huge voyage of self-discovery, all leading me to having to acknowledge my True self. Most of this isn’t news. What I am discovering is that if I acknowledge my True self and how it reacts to any task, chore, thing to do, etc., then I am more likely to have success getting it done.
True Self Is Not A Morning Person
For you this may be something else, but I am best able to get stuff done if I acknowledge that there is a lot I am just not equipped for before 9:30 am. I am quite good at big thoughts, but please don’t ask me to make decisions, change my routine, or be very social. Those things need to wait until after I’ve eased into my day.
One of the ways I circumvent my non-morning tendencies (I live with someone who is capable of cracking jokes as soon as his feet hit the floor) is to have a morning routine. I think I’ve mentioned once or twice that I love routines. My True self want to make no decisions until I’m really awake and done with my thinking phase of the day.
I make coffee, do dishes, prepare breakfast, check email and social media, tidy up, shower, makeup, dress, and laundry, without thinking too deeply about the task. If an email needs a substantive reply I usually wait. I have a pad of paper and pen in the bathroom so I can make my list for the day or jot down thoughts.
I have been getting up at 6:30 or earlier as long as I can remember. It has never been easy and I still need an alarm. Sadly, this routine is so engrained now, that I also can’t really sleep in. On weekends sometimes I nap.
True Self Is A Process Person
I love processes and I am less interested in product. The journey is what really interests me and so I think a lot about everything on that journey. It makes me a good teacher. I am hyper-observant, not only of myself, but of everything around me (which may be you!).
As I was standing untying the knots holding a hank of yarn on my umbrella swift the other day I started thinking about the different ways those knots are made, and why I always want to untie instead of cut. No big conclusions on the tying, but I imagined that it has something to do with the connection of the tie-er and their view of the end use of the yarn. From my end, I am always a little afraid of cutting the wrong thing. I am grateful to those who make it easy to tell where to cut, or easy to untie the knot.
So the downside of my True self is that I am distractible before I get to the product. If I am onto something that interests me, then I love a little side trip for a greater experience of that process. This means that if I don’t acknowledge that I’m doing that, it is easy for me to just leave something half done–probably lying right in the middle of my desk, the floor, or piled on top of something else I got distracted from.
Two things:
- This is annoying to other people who want me to get things done on their timeline.
- This is annoying to me because I have too many things going on and if I don’t have deadlines, I can endlessly explore.
What Can Make My True Self Behave?
I am always trying to figure myself out. Mostly why some things work really well, and others are battles from the get-go. I noticed that I have this travel notebook that I keep all of my travel documents in. I can actually put my hand on things more quickly than Mitch can when we are traveling. So why do I put things in that notebook, but I don’t put other things away in such an orderly and logical fashion.
- Travel is a really specific thing.
- There is a benefit to me to being organized around travel (less stress!).
- Travel anticipation is one of my favorite things.
- I don’t travel all the time, so it is relatively easy to stay on top of the paperwork.
With that in mind, I have been really trying to give myself permission to take the time to enjoy putting things away, or establishing a process for dealing with it, instead of rushing on to the next thing. I’ve not gone so far as to have a completely tidy office/studio, but I’ve made the process of putting things in order something to be enjoyed in and of itself. By making it a process, it speaks to my True self.
Things to Know
- The coffee photo is from Coffee with C.C. (and Dami too). I will be drawing a winner of the electronic version of this new book on March 22! Leave a comment on that blog or on Instagram.
- The yarn is from Anzula Luxury Fibers. They have the best knots to undo! I think a woman ties them.
- Multiple projects: 1) A duplicate swatch for my Jill Wolcott Knits® Swatch Workshop March 2017 notebook. 2) Notes for a book review I’m writing (March 31 blog). 3) Silk fabric rings from Oink Pigments that I got at TNNA. The use I plan for them needs them to not be in rings so I need to undo the seam.
- The notebook just above is part of the Jill Wolcott Knits® Swatch Workshop March 2017. Did you miss it? I will be offering Jill Wolcott Knits® Swatch Workshop May 2017! Starts May 1, ends before Memorial Day. Registration will open March 21.
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