Never Enough

I work best when working through a list. Doesn’t matter what the activity is, I have to structure it out, so that I can get everything done. I panic when I get overwhelmed, so placing things in some sort of methodical order seems to help me not panic.

But, it isn’t just panicking that I do. If I don’t have a list and order to focus on things, I don’t focus very hard at all. I will maybe start something, but my mind will wander, and I will end up doing something else, without finishing my initial task. Which would be okay, if there was only two or three tasks to do, but give me a day of non-focus and I could ‘half do’ around 10-15 different things. And, then I get frustrated. With myself. With the work. With everything. And then nothing further happens.

Sometimes, despite writing lists, I get bored and do something else. If it is something which uses active thought, like blogging, I’m fine. When it is something like doing housework, I just mentally clock out and end up doing something else. I guess I have to just find a way to become more involved in every task that I set out to do. Try not to become distracted.  I feel, that sometimes it is like I need to have someone watching over me, to push me seeing things through to completion.

I guess I sound like a teenager, who thinks that they have better things to do. But it can honestly be very hard to get things done properly. But, one thing has changed from school-age me. I no longer give up on things, if I have had a bad and unproductive day. I just take a deep breath and carry on at the next opportunity, be it the next hour, day or whatever. I take a moment to take in what I haven’t done, but no longer berate myself on my failures. I might have a whine, but I will put my head down and try to work hard round everything.

I guess the important part is never giving up on anything. You only truly fail when you give up.

Organised Chaos

I have never been a tidy person. And despite the mess I seem to live in, everything has its place. I know where most things are, and I like  that, but it confuses most people, because everything looks like a disaster.

It isn’t my room that I talk about, it’s sketch books and everything where I would need to be organised. You would think, that would change as I got older, but I haven’t. I have been planning a new project, where I am going to be making my own zine, and my books and things are a total mess. I think that I can be pretty scatter brained a lot of the time, and I think that is why everything ends up everywhere. There is no folders of organisation,  just a pile of papers. But I can easily see where everything is, and it is how I work best.

I speak to a lot of creative people, and a lot of them seem to be similar in their organisation, or lack of it, to me. I think having everything you need in front of you is inspirational, and helps me get through what I need to. Maybe not so much when I am doing things which aren’t creative, but when I am thinking of ideas for my zine, I have so much crap out for me to use.  Be it magazines, books, CDs, I get my inspiration from a lot of different areas, and I like having those things out in front of me.