Finishing the Unfinished

I posted about overcoming inertia back on November 21.  In that post, I promised myself – and everyone else who might have been reading – that I would practice finishing what I start.  I pulled out the sewing box that’s been sitting at the top of the closet in my husband’s office for 19 years and started at the top.  Here’s how I've done so far…

I have no idea what possessed me to make a sundress out of red and white striped fabric.  It can’t have been a senior moment – this was nearly 30 years ago.  I think maybe the inertia factor here was some good old fashioned common sense.  There would have been no way I would ever have worn this dress.  I plan to give it to Goodwill.  I understand lots of people shop there for Halloween costumes.

The baby dress I found in the box is baffling me.  I found the body of the dress, with the collar on and the zipper in.  I found one completed sleeve.  I found another sleeve that looked like someone took the scissors to it and absconded with the bottom half.  Gremlins?  Could this be the reason I didn't finish the dress?  Thankfully the pattern offered an option to make the dress sleeveless.  It turned out pretty cute.  This one went to the granddaughter of a dear friend.  She’s about 18 months, and the dress is a size 4, so we’ll have to blink twice before it will fit her.

I found a cut-out chair pad in the pattern we had at the old house.  (We moved 19 ½ years ago…) There was enough fabric there to turn it into a two toaster covers and two matching oven mitts, which I’ll give to next year’s Breakfast with Santa.   

The box also contains:

•             A brand-new pattern and the fabric to make a dress.  Fabric looks OK.  Dress is outdated.  Maybe I’ll buy a new pattern after I finish all this old stuff.

•             Lots and lots of scrap fabric.  I asked one of my friends if she knew any quilters, and quickly found a home for it.

My friend Adrian, author of Adrian’s Crazy Life will be proud of me for de-cluttering.  I’m feeling good about finishing projects.  Bring on those endorphins!

Overcoming Inertia

How is sugarcane packaged by the grower and shipped to market?  I thought it was a fairly simple question to research.  But the answer eluded me and stopped me cold in writing my novel.  I didn't skip the section dealing with it and move on.  I just stopped.  And I haven’t worked on the novel in six months.

Ouch.  I hate to admit it, but I am the queen of the unfinished project.  Several examples come to mind.  I found a maternity dress I planned to make for myself – all cut out and ready to sew.  My youngest child is 27.  I found a cross-stitch sampler that I started in 1990.  I found a baby dress I started for my daughter, who is now 28.  I don’t remember what my excuses were for not finishing these. 

I’m retired.  I have no excuses.  It’s time to take action.   How have others overcome inertia to get things done?

Google is my friend.  The first article I found was from Forbes, titled Two Ways to Overcome Inertia, written by Sonia Kapadia.  The two ways were 1) schedule the activity and make yourself accountable, or 2) deliberately do something completely different to refocus and clear the mind.

The second article Google listed was in daringtolivefully.com and lists seven ways to overcome inertia and get yourself unstuck. 

1.  Shock yourself into action. 
2.  Secure short term wins. 
3.  Dangle a carrot in front of yourself. 
4.  Use a stick. 
5.  Fill your gas tank. 
6.  Create a clear vision of what you’re trying to achieve. 
7.  Stage it. 

The third article I found titled Overcoming Inertia: Harnessing our Minds by Kerwyn Hodge, states it both clearly and succinctly:
      1.  Inertia is a real part of our lives, and can work for us or against us.

2.  To overcome inertia, you need an external force.
3.  That external force is our mind.

To this inspired list of strategies, I add my own:  practice finishing.  We get better at things we practice.  I’m hoping this will be no exception.