I'm giving away a few finished crafts so I can write.
A few years ago, during the pandemic, I discovered my compulsion for list-making. This realization came to me because I no longer needed one. For those few months, when our lives were whittled down to work and killing time, checklists were largely unnecessary. Along with millions of others who have gulped the Kool-Aid of Productivity, I believe that every day should end with a neat row of checks beside my list. This has been an issue since childhood when, instead of writing about my day in paragraphs with a few thoughts included, I would make a checklist of “Things to Do” – mostly household chores that my mother probably had to nag me to complete, but making the list felt better than doing the list. Some entries were titled “What Happened Today,” a bullet point list of the highlights in my nine-year-old world:
· School
· Girl Scouts
· Watched The Little Rascals
· Fed the Monkeys
· Played with Susan
· Ate dinner
· Went to bed
I did not own monkeys, but I did have an active imagination, so I slipped this fictional “to-do” into my list. Also, I am sure I did something between bed and dinner, but it doesn’t seem worthy of the list. Oh, how times have changed! Now, my lists are a satisfying row of tasks around work, household chores, keeping up with the people I love (text the kids about dinner on Saturday; check in with Uncle Bob), volunteer jobs, and, of course, writing goals. I keep my list in a yearly planner published by Punch Studio in Culver City, California. It includes monthly calendars and two-page spreads of the week that include big boxes for each day, a lined column on the left: This Week, and two columns on the right: Notes and Next Week. Oh, the lists I can create on these two pages! If the Punch Studio people stop making this calendar, I will drive to Culver City and hunt them down.[1]
At the end of every day, I want every list item to have a corresponding check, and if it is not complete, I draw a sad face next to it. It’s my own little shaming tactic before I move the item to the next day’s list. And yes, I am aware of my productivity problem and am working on learning how to do nothing and love it like we humans were meant to. That’s for another post. And enough about the lists. This post is about what I do instead of writing when the words and ideas are not flowing.
I cross-stitch.
I also buy and organize cross-stitch thread and shop Etsy for cross-stitch patterns. I am an assignment writer at my core, so coming up with writing ideas and executing them is often a struggle for me. To prove it, I have a pile of finished cross-stitched projects, and I mean that literally. They are stacked in a hanging shoe organizer in my office closet. Whenever I open the door, my procrastination needlework stares me in the face and reminds me of all the words that could have been written while I was stabbing Aida cloth. My family members and close friends have been kind to receive these craft gifts for Christmas and birthdays, but giving them more will try their patience.
This weekend, I decided to give a few away. I’ll ship them to you for five dollars, or if you are in close proximity (as in close to downtown Tulsa), I’ll deliver for free. They can be framed or turned into a pillow, or you can clothespin them to a tree branch for a rustic look. In fact, I’ll include a checklist of display ideas with your gift!
I’m hopeful that if I rid myself of staring at my finished cross-stitch while my unfinished writing projects languish, I’ll increase my productivity. Or maybe not. I have three boxes of thread, four yards of cloth, and an Etsy gift card to use, so there will be more to come. If you want to snag any of the projects below, email me at lisa@storiawriter.com. This might be a crazy idea, but is offering something for free ever a bad idea? Yes, it is, but not this time.
Procrastination is a chapter in my (finally!) finished manuscript with the working title The Reluctant Writer. It’s with a beta reader now and moving to the editing and design stage next month, with a soft launch date of February 28th.
If you are interested in attending a Reluctant Writer workshop in Tulsa in 2025 to help you move past writing fears, email me at lisa@storiawriter.com. You’ll receive a free book (and maybe a cross-stitch gift, but we hope not).
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