Incomplete but not Lacking

Cartoon by Vincent Alexander

Lately I've been feeling bad that I've let the blogging slide. I have been distracted and honestly just forgot that I had started a blog. And then today I logged on to see the title I'd saved for a future post: "Accepting my Flaws: Unfinished Projects".


I know- too perfect.

Although I haven't been doing much writing or posting, I HAVE been doing lots of thinking. And I've decided that that title no longer fits. Because I am choosing not to view my tendency to leave projects unfinished as a flaw.

My whole life I've been motivated by deadlines.

I would plan a project and lay the groundwork, but not really settle in to finish it until a day or two before it was due. This has been true all the way from elementary school to university and then community college. It's not that I didn't work at things or put thought into them until the eleventh hour, it's just that I learned that I did my best work when there was a tiny bit of pressure.

Now that I've been out of school for a few years, I no longer have those deadlines. My work is generally self-monitored. As a bookkeeper, I have a constant stream of tasks, and while some of them do have deadlines set in stone (like remittances and payments owing), I work at my own pace and I am good at getting things done.

That being said, the projects that I start for myself are the ones that suffer for the lack of a deadline.
I have several hobbies. I love to paint, knit, crochet, cook, decorate, craft, read, write... the list goes on. And I've always got ideas and motivation to start new projects. However, lots of those projects get dropped pretty quickly. I have a BEAUTIFUL peyote stitched necklace that is so close to being finished I can taste it.... I started it close to four years ago.

I have pieces of knitting projects that I was so excited about... until I wasn't. One exception to my hobby ADD seems to be gifting- if I am making something for someone else, I get it done. Thank goodness. But other than that, I have learned that the projects that take one-two sittings are the only ones that are likely to be finished.

I have decided that that's ok, because I value the experience of creating things more than I value the final product.

So yes- sometimes things in life will prevent me from posting regularly. Things like surgery/recovery and searching for an apartment (my current excuses), or holidays (coming up- you've been warned!), or just my tendency to be going madly off in all directions. But it's ok- because I didn't start this mish-mash of topics and ideas with the intention of churning out three posts a day or making money or becoming famous. I did it for the experience.