Roadblocks

 Do you ever get excited about a new project idea and then never get it done because you have created roadblocks for yourself?

A couple of months ago I thought I had at least a fair chance of getting a piece of my art into a local show. There was a theme that I really identified with, and I had an idea that I figured would be different from everyone else's, so it might stand a chance. I set about creating a piece, thinking I might make as many as three. The first one was going very well, and then I hit a snag. I had to make a decision on how to finish it.  The piece was done in black and white. Was I going to leave the background the blank white paper? Quite possibly. I also had to add one more element in order to finish it. But I liked what I had accomplished so much I put up a roadblock. I couldn't finish because I was suddenly afraid to ruin what I had done so far.

Now I have been given the opportunity to get in on something I consider even more important than a local show. If I managed to create a successful piece it would be shown in a place that would be uplifting to people in need of some sort of encouragement.  I got a couple of ideas on how to handle this project. I settled on one that excited me the most and did the prep work. Suddenly, for some strange reason, I seem to be busy setting up all kinds of roadblocks. This feels like far more than simple procrastination. Instead of my usual, full steam ahead and thinking the journey is more important than the destination, I'm almost afraid to put that first mark on the paper.  Maybe it's because this time I actually have a destination for this thing in mind. I'm not sure I can climb over this hurdle, but I still have more than a month to give it a try.

Normally I'm the one encouraging people who wish they could draw or paint to just do it. Don't be afraid, just have fun, I say. I even encourage those who do art, not to hide it. Put it out there, I tell them. Goodness knows I post everything I do, no matter how badly I think it turns out. Strangely, the pieces I'm most ashamed of seem to get a better response than the ones I'm actually proud of. Go figure! So, I should just get busy and attack this project...have fun with it, and just see what happens. Maybe tomorrow I will find the strength to move that roadblock out of the way. Wish me luck.

De-clutter Project - Week 20/21 Never Put Off Until Tomorrow....Ya Right!

Do you procrastinate?  Most of us do, at some time or other. I've been putting off a job that has needed to be done since early in the new year.  I think I've begun to turn procrastination into an art form. I have cleaned out closets, cupboards and drawers and even rearranged a room just to avoid going though one box that's been sitting on the floor of my office for months now.  I have put this job off because I really didn't want to do it.

I had removed all these things from my desk when I got a new computer and flat screen monitor and put them in a box. The reason I kept putting off getting into that box is that I really don't know were to put any of that stuff. It's always been on be on my desk, but now there is no room.

I put the task off so well, that after promising I would do it last week, I didn't de-clutter anything at all, and so I basically skipped week 20 of the de-cluttering project.  Today I figured I had better get on with the job.

I no longer had any idea just what was in the box, so I found a few surprises along the way.  There was a coat hook, shaped like a dog, for instance. I don't know where I got that, but it will go in the donation box, as I have no use for it.  There was a disc of free Casino software and supposedly $250 to play with.  I know that came in the mail, but I'm not sure why.  It went to the trash basket. There was an envelope full of Red Hatter photos, that I will have to sort through and decide if they are for my album or for giving away. I also found 3 audio tapes that I will have to check out as I have no idea what is on any
of them. 

There were several years of dateline calendars, which kind of act as records of when things happened.  I went through them and copied out any important dates, and trashed the books. I also forced myself to dispose of numerous brochures from past studio tours. My hand painted pencil box was in there too. I'll keep that, but there is no longer room for it on this desk. I was delighted to find a few notepads as I was planning to buy some new ones and now won't have to.  I also found over $10 in change, all rolled up and ready for deposit. There are some papers with information I want to keep, so I guess I'm going to have to find a way to file them.  In the meantime, they went back into the box, as did an envelope full of addresses I want to bump against my computer address book, to make sure I have them or the ones I have are up to  date.  A few other things found new places to belong. Though I made a dent in the contents of the box, there is still work to do with the rest of it. 

I put off doing this job because I knew there were things I didn't know what to do with. There are still things I don't know what to do with, but fewer of them now, and a few plans of action for some of the remaining stuff.  I wonder how long I'll put off finishing this job.  I do procrastinate, but in this case, at least I understood why I was doing it.

F.R. Scott once said, "Do nothing by halves that can be done by quarters."   I may not have finished the job, but at least I made a good stab at it.

Meanwhile, on other fronts, at least I got my tomato garden ready to plant.

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