on the mind

I have a tendency to over-think everything.  When it comes to making things I often spend more time in my head than I do with my hands.  Even with easy stuff.  Like the sweater that the wee one has been wearing in pieces lately because she's excited about it; meanwhile her mama can only think about actually stitching the sleeves to the body.  And there are those two simple holiday gifts I'm working on (still all in my head, mind you) for nana and great nana, which will undoubtedly be delivered into their hands well into next week.  And the solstice cards.  These are finally on paper thanks tonight's intensive gocco session, but they've morphed into a new year's greeting. 

I'm thinking seriously about resolving in the new year to not let things get stuck in the gray matter, but instead to make a practice of getting them out, of making them real.  I'm wondering if getting back to Julia Cameron's morning pages would help.  Or maybe making a trusty little notebook a constant companion, into which I could jot ideas and notions into as they came to me.  Of course I'm all still completely in my head about how to get out...  So the question for you, friends, is do you have a practice that keeps you moving from the mental to the physical realm, that helps you kick-start your ideas and bring them to fruition?

Comments

[Ellie]

Thanks for visiting me in blogland. Our Christmas tree is an Australian pine, native to the tropical north - hence it's name Daintree Pine. It really is beautiful. We plan on keeping it in a pot and bringing it in each year for Christmas, at least until it's too big! I do love your memory of planting the tree in Spring - except for us Spring is almost a whole year away!
As with helping you get ideas happening, hmmmm. Sorry, I have same dilema as you! One thing I have been doing over the past 6 or so months is to not have ideals of perfection - that is often a reason I don't do something. If I let it go a bit, and enjoy doing it, rather than looking at the end product, then I seem to get more achieved.

[emily]

i'm pretty sure that my current gocco situation disqualifies me from being able to offer any advice in this arena.

but the morning pages, that could be good...i might just jump-start that way, too...

[julia]

i too have this problem- i am an obsessive list-maker. i find that this can certainly help in realm of remembering my ideas and sometimes that alone helps me to make them a reality- but it can also encourage the neverending writing down of ideas, but not making of them.

one real thing that i have found really helps in making ideas into a reality is to have deadlines (soft deadlines, but deadlines nonetheless) for projects. deciding to make something for a birthday present for a friend or family member-for example- often gives me that jumpstart i need to actually make something that i haven't found an excuse to do previously. just an idea...

[jeanne]

you are such a talented knitter, if only i could be 1/16 as good as you. And talk about the thinking process, i stressed about the Gocco so much it never got ordered, now it's almost Christmas and I have NO cards. And I remember doing the morning papers for a writing class in college, it was astounding how it frees up your mind, even when it only makes sense to you, and sometimes not even to you (does that make sense?) Happy solstice! Which is my Birthday by the way, the longest night of the year!!! Ahhhhh!!A few min. more sleep!!

[Elizabeth]

Laughing about the being in your head about being in your head.

Love the idea of doing morning pages again.

Love,
E

[Michele]

Hello... what a delight to discover your blog..
I so relate to your dilemma.. I spend many hours procrastinating and thinking about what I could be doing with my crafts.. I think my hurdle is fear of failure.. I am such a perfectionist!!
I vowed this year to focus on my achievements and not my failures.. I let the ideas speak for themselves without trying to intervene too much... gosh... does that make sense??

M