Taking my Hobbies from Plans to Implementation to Finishing

“It is not good enough for things to be planned – they still have to be done; for the intention to become a reality, energy has to be launched into operation,” (Walt Kelly).

At one time this octopus was a drawing on a page. It was on someone's to-do list. Luckily for us, the artist did more than plan, s/he expended energy and launched this plan of carving this ancient Kauri tree into art.

Oh, I am good at planning. I have pages of plans. For me that is the most fun part of a project.

But, as Walt Kelly said above, energy has to be expended in order for them to become reality.

As I noted, I have pages of plans. I am excited about many opportunities. This post talks about the many hobbies I have been into over the years. As you can see there are so many that it is hard for me to narrow down the list to just a manageable few.

I start this and that project and oft-times, they don’t get finished before I am on to another project. (Luckily this tendency does not stalk my work habits.) This is more true of projects that take a long-term commitment. I.e. Knitting a scarf will get done, but an afghan is harder for me to finish. While working on the project I start thinking about what else needs starting and what needs finishing. Or I become paralysed by these thoughts and don’t do anything creative. It is all very exhausting.

Here I am hugging a turtle carved from an ancient Kauri tree (New Zealand 2011). Some of the literature says these tree trunks are up to 45,000 years old. No matter how you do the dating, they are OLD!

No more! This year is the year of focus. I will narrow the field of my activities.

This week I read a blog post by Katrina from Callapidder Days about Hobby Focus. Katrina said she’s been a dabbler, not becoming proficient in any one hobby. I can echo that.

Katrina is doing something different this year too.

“But I decided that this year, I want to spend some time going a little deeper in a few of them. I want to bring a bit more focus to my hobbying.”

Katrina hopes to become more proficient in a few hobbies, to see if she’d like to pursue them long-term, and finally to discover if dabbling is more to her liking.

What am I hoping to gain by narrowing my activities?

A close up of the turtle carving.

First, I want to finish what I start. By knowing there will be only a few hobbies to pursue this year, I am hoping I can stop my hobby-hopping and concentrate on the few. I am hoping this thought process will bring a freedom to finish because there will be time (later) to work on what’s next.

Second, I want to concentrate on what I am doing. By keeping my thoughts on the present, I hope to better learn the mechanics, enjoy the process, and feel the peace that comes with being satisfied with doing that one thing. There has got to be less stress if I am not bombarding myself with thoughts of past and present projects.

And third, I want to discover what hobbies are a good fit for me now. I realize that as I go through my list, I will find that some hobbies I used to enjoy will no longer interest me. I want to let go of expectations of pursuing them and get rid of any of its hobby-related items.

Trish "swimming" with a dolphin. We did go out on a boat for the purpose of swimming with dolphins. However, they did not slow down enough so that we could join them. This dolphin was obliging & photogenic.

The top three hobbies (besides blogging) are cooking, photography, and sewing. I don’t have a set plan for how I will engage in them. I will most likely jump from one to another. But here are the goals I have for them in the coming months.

• Cooking – I want/need to get back into healthy cooking. I enjoy baking. It will be fun and relationship building to cook with my nieces, even if only once a month. I want to put family favourite recipes on my blog so that I don’t lose them.
• Photography – I am going through my photos from New Zealand. I will post some on my blog and/or Facebook each week. And I want to make a photo album with my photos. I have like 2,000 pictures.
• Sewing– I have some quilts I want to make. A friend, Theresa, is going to show me
  

  Close up of a dolphin carved from a Kauri tree.

  how to use a rotary cutter next week (next week). I also want to make a wine tote or two.

  I will have time to launch many projects. But I will have time to only finish a few. Therefore, I need to carefully craft a plan that will launch these projects into action.

Your Turn . . .

1. Can you relate to either Katrina or I regarding our hobbies?
2. What kind of hobbyist are you? A dabbler or a pro in one or two areas?
3. Do you finish all you start? Or do you have UFP’s (unfinished projects)?
4. Do you have a new hobby plan for this year? If yes, what is it?
5. Do you have any (kind) advice?

Related Posts . . . 

• 5 Hobbies and Reasons I Love Them
• 12 Motivating Ideas to Goal Achievement
• Are Thoughts Getting in the Way of Goal Achievement?
• It’s Easy & Motivating to Track Goals With This Method