Randall: So you sew?Me: Well, yeah, but really its creating
Randall: Like quilts?
Me: More like art
Randall: Ohhhhh....its your hobby
Me: No placing phone orders is my hobby.... what I am is an artist
Of course this time of year you wouldn't know it. With Christmas rush, I'm working 48 hours a week, talking to 60 ladies a day (and an occasional befuddled husband - grin) and even I'm tired of hearing my own voice!
That said, I want to be more creatively productive this December. Normally, all my creative juices get sapped away by creating - well - Christmas! With my daughter nearly grown (OMG how did that happen?) she is picking up a lot of the normal hub-bub, so I do have some energy to create in my studio.
Or do I?
Well, I do I guess, if I'm more productive. Not busy. Productive. There is a difference. I've noticed that over the last few weeks, I've been very busy but not productive. It took some thought on why that was happening and its because I'm working against my own productivity style.
We have a productivity style? Well apparently since there are all sorts of quizzes online about it. But from a class I took a while back I learned that it could be broken down simply by deciding if you are Task Oriented or Production Oriented. . . .Are you Organized or Unorganized....meaning......
Do you create to finish a project or do you create to enjoy the process??
Do you like to start at a beginning of a list and work your way through or
Do you like to start and in the middle - go back to the top and then stop in the middle before jumping near the end?
So of course, I'm tasked oriented and VERY organized (anally so) but lately I've been working like my sisters who are process oriented and unorganized. Now they thrive very well that way but I'm floundering. I need lists, I need plans, I need schedules.
So this week, I pledge to change that around. I already started a little by working in my studio for an hour or two before work.. . but I'll put myself on a more rigid schedule and see if I can get more productive. Also some To-Do lists should help. I hope.
I did manage to get more of my latest product sewn this week and of course, the french knots are progressing - slowly but surely!
So that's me. . . .What about you?? What's your productivity style and are you working against it?
oh and What Have You been up to creatively?
13 comments:
Good subject for discussion...... I cursed with both styles.....It's exremely rare for me not to finish a project.....though sometimes that generates a feeling of non-enjoyment of the process.....in the end, I find I have enjoyed both the good and the bad.
Good fodder for thought. We all do what works for us hopefully. I for one am as unorganized as you can get but it works for me. Lists drive me crazy. Makes me feel pressured. Which is probably why I have at least 5 UFO's at all times 😏
You know, I'm not convinced that being task oriented means you have less UFOs. I still tend to have at least three or four UFOs at any given time . I don't let myself have more than that . I do like to start and finish a project which makes me feel more accomplished.
If you follow my blog the answer is easy - I'm obsessively organized and list driven. I work on a quilt from start to finish before beginning the next one. However, I have just pledged in my blog to give myself a break from myself and relax. I'm taking a quilt making holiday.
I'm totally task oriented. I don't necessarily think this is good, but it is natural for me. UFO's are not a part of what I do-I either ditch them or finish, rarely a UFO. But being process-oriented leads to more exploration, something I need to do more of. Interesting discussion so far.
I chuckle over quiltedfabricart's comment-I live by lists, giggle!
I think I like Mary Stori am a little of both but plan to give it more thought. Thanks for the question.
Your knots are looking fabulous! I think i'm more task driven- I enjoy the process, but I feel really overwhelmed by multiple projects unfinished at once... Interestingly, last year I had large art projects due just after Christmas and was so stressed I hardly had any time to make Christmas, so this year I forced myself not to commit anything unfinished to something just after the first of the year, so I'd have time for all the holiday stuff I want to do. Still task oriented though, and my list always gets longer!
I think you're right too about the task oriented UFO question being two separate things.... I know plenty of really task-oriented list manic planning people who really do function best with multiple things in process at once.
I tend to be organized and process oriented at the same time. I recently moved and my studio is upstairs because there just wasn't a suitable space downstairs. I actually like it better because I have lots of windows so natural light coming through is wonderful. But, being up here causes me to lose some time by having to go downstairs to a sink that I don't mind messing up while I'm working on a "wet" projects. I find myself going up and down stairs a lot - good for exercise, not so good for time management. I like for all of my supplies to be organized and since I've moved and I'm waiting on shelves and cubbies, etc. to be put in I hate working out of boxes! It definitely stifles my creativity and production without having everything organized grrrrr... but soon things will get back to normal.
Generally speaking, I'm both task oriented and production oriented. I like to finish pieces and I enjoy the process. Every now and then, I do abandon a project when I think it is going nowhere, however. So I do have some UFO's laying around. When there is a due date for an entry, I get a list going of when I should be finished with what steps so that I can actually get entered. Or if I'm doing certain layering processes, I make a list of what should be done first because sometimes things must be done in a certain order. Like acrylics can't go on top of oil paintstiks. Other than that, I don't make lists, I like to let the art just flow and let the piece tell me what I should do next. In aspects other than art making in my life, I make lists for everything and check items off as I go.
I love lists, especially when I can check off an item as completed! I'm also easily distracted by a new project, so I try to follow my list and complete one project before starting another. I usually have some sort of deadline, generally the entry deadline for a quilt show.
However, I tend to be disorganized while I'm creating. My studio does NOT look neat and tidy - fabrics, and supplies get pulled out at the start of a project, and not put away until it's finished.
I agree that the most important thing is to find what works for you.
I'm completely process oriented at the moment, but it can come and go. Being process oriented always brings the greatest chance of achieving flow. Task oriented is good for me when there are other things on my mind, and I might not be able to stay on task any other way.I would say that when I have orders for customers, it's far more task oriented. My studio needs cleaned up in the worst way right now, but I'm in the middle of my first real dye session using your Solo cup method. I'm barely stopping to eat and order supplies as this sucks me into it. It's positively exhilerating!
Thank you for sharing so many things here. Your blog is truly inspiring.
Julie @ Pink Doxies
I have been amusing 140 kids and blogging. Have you been over to visit for advent? www.peskiweb.com
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