I’m often asked how I find time to craft and I have to admit, sometimes I DON’T find time!
Life is FULL with kids, husband, home, church and work. As much as I dream of crafting, in reality I think more about juggling the wet laundry and what we will eat for dinner than what to make with my new charm squares.
Despite the lack of time though I’m trying hard to find balance and stay calm in the midst of the chaos. One of my strategies for staying happy and balanced is to fit in crafting, even just a small time, each day. It isn’t easy but as I’ve been really trying, I’m finding it is possible.
My Top 10 Ways to Find Time for Crafting
1. Have a dedicated space
First up, find a space that can be for your crafting. Perhaps you are lucky enough to have a spare room where you can keep a table just for your sewing machine, or maybe you have a closet that can be converted into a desk area with boxes for all your Project Life supplies. A dedicated space might be the chair in the corner of the living room with your basket of crochet yarn beside it, or a shelf in your kitchen cabinet with all your paints and brushes. Whatever works for you, have a place where you have all the things you need to work on your craft when you have a moment to spare. It is about having a spot to work and all the supplies together.
When my Little Miss was a baby I had a scrapbooking table set up in our bedroom – of all places! It worked because I could leave my pages and tools spread out and go back to it whenever she went down for a nap. The layout of our house meant that she rarely went into our room so it was safe from her exploring!
2. Find your best time of the day
Are you a night owl or a morning person? I’m a morning lover so I try to include a little crafting time early in the day. This means I’m effective in seeing progress on my project, but it also makes me smile for the rest of the day knowing that I’ve already had some creative time. If you’re a night owl, you may prefer to create after everyone else has gone to bed and you can focus on your task. Work out the time of day that will work best for you.
3. Schedule
Once you know when you want to fit in your creative time, schedule it in. This seems obvious, but when we have something scheduled either on paper or in our head for a certain time, we are much more likely to do it. I sometimes schedule a whole day in my head for creating a project, and knowing that I have that plan for tomorrow makes me get all the other jobs that might distract me done today.
4. Set a Timer
If you know you only have limited time, don’t let that stop you from crafting. Just set a timer so that you stop and move on to other projects when you need to. (I’m apt to get started on my crafting and forget the time altogether – oops!) That time creating even if it is only a short time will still give you a boost for the rest of your day!
5. Plan ahead
If you know you will have a chance to craft each day, then plan a little task for each day. When you do have that moment to sit down, you don’t waste it working out what to do next.
I will often finish a couple of rows of my blanket each day which means I need to change colours. Before I stop working on it, I attach the new colour yarn ready to start crocheting when I next pick up the project. This somehow gets me going next time.
6. Multitask
Now I don’t mean trying to crochet while you’re in the shower kind of multitasking! I’m thinking more of the “take a project in the car when you have to wait for a child at sport practice” kind of multitasking.
I’m notorious for having multiple projects on the go at any one time, but I usually plan it this way so that I have something small that I can take out and about with me, and then something else that is for in front of the TV in the evening while I chat to hubby. I can easily stitch while I’m chatting to someone or supervising homework so there is a multitasking plan behind it all!
7. Set a Deadline
It is amazing what we can get done when we really have to! If I set a deadline for a project – like the quilt I wanted to finish for a raffle prize last week – then I will generally get that project done.
If you don’t really have a deadline for a project, then tell someone you want to finish it by a certain date. Just knowing that someone else is expecting to hear about your finish can add an urgency to get it done.
8. Break it into Smaller Tasks
When I think of making a whole quilt from cutting to binding, it is a huge overwhelming thought – and one that I’m likely to put aside for another day! But if I tell myself that all I have to do on the quilt today is cut the red fabric section, then that is OK – I can do that. I might even do more than that once I get started! By thinking of a project in smaller steps, we can often see a way to fit them into our day.
9. Phone a Friend
When I was going to a craft group every fortnight, I was making lots of things. In many ways the time was spent more on chatting and sharing morning tea than crafting, but just by going each time I got something done on my project.
If I know a friend is coming to craft with me, I will always plan to have a project to work on while we chat.
So plan a morning of crafting with a friend as a regular time to be creative.
10. Involve your Family
When my children were younger and at home with me all day, I would often plan craft time for myself my planning craft time for them. Inevitably if I sat down to sew, they wanted to be with me, so I would plan something crafty suitable to their age and abilities as well. It didn’t always work. Sometimes I spent more time helping them than working on my project! But sometimes it was magic and we all got creative together.
Alternatively plan your crafting while their favourite TV show is on. {wink}
BONUS TIP!
11. Grab your Opportunities
When something unexpected happens – like being stuck at home with sick kids for three days instead of going to work – grab the opportunity to do some extra crafting rather than washing every towel in the house. Sometimes we can fit in a lot just by taking those little gaps in our days and running with it!
Your Turn
How to find more time for your crafting? Do you have any strategies to add to my list?
