The strategy is not to think of a bad habit as "I can't" do this or that. Rather think of it as "I don't" do this or that. The study proved that just changing the one word from "Can't" to "Don't" empowers and motivates us to change the habit.
Simple enough right? So I thought I would give it a try and change a bad habit. The last several years, I've tended to get up early, grab breakfast and sit down at my laptop. I catch up on facebook, clear out emails, read my favorite blogs and play games. Its a quiet way to start the morning - harmless right? Wrong - its a huge time suck and hours can pass before I know it! I'm such an early bird, why would I waste my most productive part of the day????So starting today, I'm changing this habit. I don't (and won't - grin) get up in the morning and hop on my lap top. Rather I will exercise, do chores or gasp - go into my studio to sew.
.jpg)
Wellllll actually I'll start tomorrow.... today I had to write this blog post to show my progress on lily quilt. I did get in a few hours this weekend of practicing free motion quilting and then finally working on the piece itself. I'm doing it in invisible thread and its going well accept for one thing - every once in a while it will skip about 5 stitches where it won't pick up the bobbin thread. I have no idea why its doing it and after spending a goodly amount of time trying to fix it - I just decided to fix those areas that it skipped. It doesn't do it on the practice piece - just my lily quilt itself. Frustrating! I'm thinking it has to do with the spray basting - but both pieces were sprayed so not sure!
Anyways almost done with this and since I don't get up and waste hours on the computer in the mornings now - I should be onto my next piece soon!
So what habit would you like to change?
See more traditional design walls at Judy's Patchwork Times!
Your quilt is looking great. That invisible thread is sometimes a problem for me as well. It does tend to skip.
ReplyDeleteA bad habit I need to change is not cleaning my sewing area after each project. It gets very messy and I start to trip over previous messes before I get upset with myself and finally clean....LOL
Lookin' good.....keep up the hard work!! Bad habits? Me?? Of course I have them......but there are so many I guess I'll continue to avoid the subject....grinning
ReplyDeleteIf you aren't using a topstitching needle with the elongated eye, you may want to switch to it. Probably a size 80 is big enough. It is the needle that seems to solve about 90% of machine quilting stitch problems.
ReplyDeleteYour mornings sound just like mine. I start my mornings with a devotion, on the computer, and then stumble into Facebook, emails, and blogs (& games, too). And I agree about it being a BIG time waster. So, I have been thinking that I would do my devotion with the iPad (easier to put down) and save my computer time for later in the day, kind of as a break time thing. Except for Monday mornings when I have to put my blog on Design Wall Mondays. ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt would be getting on the computer first. It is a time sucker for sure and I'm never caught up. I'm still sitting here.
ReplyDeleteBoy, do I need to read that article! Don't tell Frank, but I do have a few bad habits I need to break.
ReplyDeleteYour lily piece is really coming together. It is wonderful!
Well... your bad habit description just jerked my chain! I have the same stinkin' bad habit! I'm with you 100% in moving on and getting rid of this horrible time waster. So, we jump out of bed and exercise... wait - I at least need to have a cup of coffee. A really terrific place to sip coffee is while checking email at the computer.... Oh boy, wait a minute - I see a pattern here. Coffee needs to come after the exercise thing... Wow, I'm going to have to think about all this.
ReplyDelete;) Mary
I am fascinated by language solutions, and I can see the "can't" and "don't" thing working. If I don't, I can just as easily do some day. I am reminded of the freeing up when I changed "I don't have money for..." to "I don't choose to spend money on..." I don't have anything I want to apply it to at the moment, but will hold it in reserve for when I need it. (No I'm not claiming perfection, but only nothing naggingly pressuring.)
ReplyDeleteOoh! As knitnkwilt said, the language solution is amazing (when I remember to use it) and I especially like her "I don't choose to spend money on" line.
ReplyDeleteFor those of us with computer time sucking vortexes, I hear there are some apps/programs that help with manage time on the things, but I forget where....
My habit I need to work on is being more organized with my time. There are so many irons in the fire, or plates spinning (and crashing) here that I've really got to work on it. Especially when it comes to actually quilting instead of just thinking about it or reading about it.