Bite the Bullet
4-months ago:
It is another first Thursday of the month. All my Stitchin’ Sisters are sitting around the table enjoying each others company. It is show and tell time and we are taking turns showing what we have done for the past month. It is so inspiring, and sometimes embarrassing. Again, I have nothing to show. Everyone else seams to be getting more projects done. Try as I might, life gets in the way.
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Some of the best sewing advise I ever received was from one of my Stitchin’ Sisters. She said “Sue, just set 10 minutes aside every day for sewing.” That became my new goal.You would be surprised how much you can get done in 10 minutes. Sometimes it is just a matter of sitting down that will keep me sewing for hours. Sometimes though it is all I can do to get 10 minutes. I’ve discovered I can get a lot accomplished in that 10-minutes. I can change thread and prepare my sewing space, count patches, do a couple more blocks, prep fabric, cut strips of fabric, lay out a pattern. . . It really is amazing how much you can get done in 10 minutes. Like any other goal, it is more likely you will reach it if you write it down. That is where a bullet journal comes in to play.
Ryder Carroll of bulletjournal.com invented the bullet journal, aka “bujo”. It is a central place to dump everything in my head that keeps me up at night. I can eliminate all my post-it notes and scribbles on napkins. I can clear my purse of all those nasty papers and notes I stuck in there hoping I would one day see them again.
The bullet journal is all the rage. There are thousands of pins on Pinterest alone. You can be as creative as you want or keep it simple. It’s whatever works for you. I purchased an inexpensive journal at the dollar store and thought I would try it out. I’m thrilled, it has bailed me out so many times in just the small amount of time I’ve been using it. I have now purchased a nicer one that I plan on dedicating specifically for sewing. It is time to get all those UFOs completed. Stay with me and I will show you how it works in the following blogs. Right now let me give you the basics of bullet journaling.
The idea of the journal is jotting quick, short notes to manage all my lists and ideas using bullets ( • ) This keeps all my notes organized and in the same place.
The first couple pages of my journal are for the index. This is the key to making everything come together. As your journal fills up, so does your index. I number each page every time I add something new to my journal, then add that number to my index. When I want to find a “collection”, I just flip open to the index and it will guide me to the exact page. If it is a page I frequent a lot, I use a post-it index tab to mark it.
I place my KEY with the index of my bullet journal. It is custom bullets used to distinguish each item on your list:
• Task
X Completed
> Migrated – if the task is not finished and I reschedule it to a new date
< Scheduled – the task is placed on your yearly calendar
* Important
Many bullet journalists have added different keys bullets for what is important to them. ie. a birthday cake to symbolize a birthday. If the key gets too complicated, it is a good idea to place it at the beginning or end of your bujo to enable quick reference. When I first started I went way overboard with customized bullets. I eventually found I did not need all the extras. It took too much time referring back to my key. (I do still use the birthday cake though)
The first pages after the index is my monthly calendar. I divided the next two sets of pages, 3 sections on each page. (Some people prefer vertical, some boxes and some horizontal divisions.) I added the months to each section. This is where I place all upcoming events for the following year that I want to remember.
The next page or pages is my weekly calendar. There are many different ways to lay these pages out depending on how much you have going on in your life. Pinterest is full of ideas. I will admit on a quiet week I don’t always create a weekly calendar. I get slack. Although, I should. It keeps me on task. I use it to set goals. I like to have an inspirational quote for the week along with one goal I plan to accomplish. I also list upcoming birthday to remind me to buy a card or present.
Anytime I want to add a thought, make a list, draw an idea, I just place it on the following page. As long as my pages are numbered, I can easily find it again. All the different lists are called collections. A few of collections I have are UFOs, birthdays, favorite quotes and a running prayer list. My UFO list is what inspired me to create a sewing bujo which I will explain more in my next blog.
Happy sewing!
