Are you an habitual knitter (you knit most days in the same time frame)? I knit almost every evening while watching TV. If you are like me, you think of habits as bad things. It turns out I have a lot of habits/routines that are very good!
If you are a knitter of any kind you are probably well aware of how knitting is touted as “the new yoga” (still?) and is on the list of things you can do to help prevent Alzheimers. These are things that non-knitters seem to be always sharing with us. So this article popped up on my feed on Facebook and I ignored it. But when someone else pointed out the link to me, I decided to give it a read. It has some information that was new to me, so you might find interesting information in it too.
The reason I read it on second pass was because I am attempting to establish a [good] habit and I wondered if the article would shed any light on this. I have successfully improved my flossing habit by allowing myself to read my book while doing it, and I get through my nearly daily physical therapy stretches by reading a non-fiction book I want to get through. I decided I would tie knitting to another task I want to make more of a habit: planning my day. Since I can’t do anything else while planning, and I rarely knit during the day (this isn’t really a good thing) I am rewarding myself with 10 to 15 minutes of knitting after I have finished the planning. We shall see if I end up with a good habit in addition to more knitting finished!
According to the article, knitting releases dopamine, which makes us “feel happy, more motivated, and assists also with focus and concentration.” The activities that aid in releasing dopamine are “sex, food, exercise, sleep, and creative activities.” Knitting seems like a good fit for the workday morning. Becoming a habitual knitter in the morning should also help the rest of my day. I’ll get just a little more knitting done, which is perfect for squeezing knitting projects in!
I am part of the Indie Designer Gift-A-Long 2015! The Meath Mitt pattern above and ten other patterns are included in this event.
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