Staying Motivated
Posted on May 17, 2022 by prairiemoonquilts in Quilting For HireI’ve mentioned lately that my mojo has been missing. I’ve been in a bit of a slump, and haven’t felt like doing much of anything.
Granted, having both of my arms partially disabled, and having fought the pain of it all for over nine months now, I’m sorta due for a slump (My Cowboy has started calling me T. Rex — haha!). But pity parties are not generally my thing, and I usually like to stay busy. I often wonder what people with no hobbies do with their lives!
If you love quilting, and you like to sew all the time, a creative slump can be aggravating. If you are self-employed as a quilter for hire, a slump can be downright detrimental to your business. Customers expect their quilts back, especially if they have deadlines; and if you’re like me, you need to keep making money because you like to eat and live indoors!
In my book, Quilting for Hire, in Chapter 5, I talk about ways to keep your motivation going, and some ways to get it back if you’ve lost it. For myself, I use games, rewards, a timer, and various focus techniques to keep myself going. Especially games (and if you know me well, you already know this!).
For my book, I also interviewed some of my fellow longarming friends, and here are some of their suggestions for keeping or getting back your motivation:
When I’ve completely lost my mojo as I have lately, there’s a bit of self-care info that might help bring it back. I’m trying not to beat myself up for having a slow period and taking a bit of time off.
Along with all these suggestions, I asked the question: “What are some other ways you can keep yourself motivated?”
So, I’d like to hear from you.
This is for all you quilters, not just those who quilt for hire — it’s for anyone who loves to sew and quilt and sometimes hits a wall in their creativity. Anyone who is sometimes missing their mojo, feeling uninspired or unimaginative, or feels like they’re in a rut or a slump.
What do you do to keep yourself motivated?
What do you do to pull yourself out of a slump?
What are some self-care things you do to help you out of a slump?
I think we can all learn from each other here, and get some good ideas we can use to keep our creativity flowing. Please leave a comment, share your ideas, or ask any specific questions you have. Let’s discuss! I’ll try to compile all our suggestions into a future post that we can use for reference any time we’re headed down that slippery slump slope.
I’ll start: I’m a huge fan of naps, so when I feel the need for one, I take it, and try not to feel even one bit guilty about it. I usually make up the work time later on, anyway, simply because I love my job.
Your turn!
I guess I’m truly lucky as I have never hit a slump. Just too many different patterns I want to try and so little time! And I have been quilting for a very long time!
Nothing yet works…well, it works for that 5 or 10 min I give it to work. Next, I will burn sage. It is good to remove negative energy. In the old days, when I would “sage” the house, my husband and son would leave for a few hours! I can only hope this time they take the dogs too! I look forward to more ideas.
Comedy is my best pick-me-up. Simon’s Cat, a line drawing about an owner and his beloved cat, with no name. It is sooo funny!! Two grandchildren turned me on to this some years ago…it is on Youtube. Try it.
Each segment lasts only a few minutes. Keep watching until you laugh out loud!!
Thank you for suggesting this. They are too funny! I’m thoroughly enjoying watching these!
It is hard when one has physical limitations and pain to not be in a slump. I can only sit at the machine or stand and cut for short periods of time. Naps are great. Looking at quilt books gets me excited once again. I have also done some thinking about what I really want to make and to let the rest go.
I also wonder what people do with no hobbies…
TV sure isn’t worth watching all day!!
I find a day off in a different place or town and with a friend who doesn’t quilt…really helps clear my brain.
Or now, having to work in the flower bed and no time to quilt helps too.
I guess i’ve hit a slump too. Been working on cleaning prom dresses for our church’s prom dress give away. Not been sewing and haven’t cleaned my sewing messes. So once done with the dresses will take walk & start re-organizing which will hopefully get me going again. You deserve a break from pain & troubles.
I call a friend who’s super productive sometimes. I also look at Facebook since I follow several different pages. Sometimes I just have to walk away for a day or two as well. The thing that gets me motivated to start sewing is to look through my scraps from friends and plan for a new quilt. Cooler weather also helps.
I find making a sewing date with others helps. I host a zoom sewing day every Saturday and since I have to get it started I’m always there. Sometimes I just sort or organize but I’m in my sewing room and something gets done. Lately I started zooming during the week 2 or 3 times in the morning. Sometimes it turns into all day…and I’m not doing other things around here that I should. 😱 It’s definitely helping by seeing some things get done.
Setting a goal with a reward also helps motivate me.
Deadlines can also get me moving. It’s usually the getting going that’s my hang up and if I can ignore all the other “shoulds”, like housecleaning, cooking, laundry, etc I’m good. Lately I’ve decided it’s part of my self care to let myself do the fun stuff, not what I think has to be done.
Also listening to a book on tape gets me off the couch off the laptop and away from the tv.
Hope you find your mojo! I could never be my own boss…I need to be held accountable by someone else. I’ll do for others what I won’t do for myself.
Plan a vacation. I get a bit more done when I know I will be away for a few days or a few weeks. Seriously, you work hard you should get time “off” to be inspired and rest and restore your creative and physical energy. Before “vacating”, make a list of what you are working on and what you hope to finish when you return. It helps. Set things up to sew for when you get unpacked. You may even want to sew when you are vacating (bring simple hand work and no expectations to get any of it done – if you do, yay you). Once home, glance at your list and work it.
I usually take a couple of nice days off from the sewing room and work in the gardens – gives that instant gratification of a job well done and I can go back with a clear head. Vacations, I usually take crocheting or cross stitch as a diversion. Something small to carry and sit on the porch, beach, or ponder. Then I go back refreshed with new ideas that have been drifting through my brain all week! Hope you are back in action soon.
I wish I had a great answer for you but I don’t. I like what Debbie said. I’m struggling too and not where I would like to be. Getting out of the house helps me and doing something different. If I would clean my sewing area that would help also. Maybe I will do that this morning. You could be low on B vitamins or other essential nutrients. I find my funks are sometimes a physical problem, low on vitamins. Hard to find someone to help in that area though. Hang in there. It will get better. Do some fun things for yourself!
Having been through several different health challenges in my life I learned there are times to cherish the “down” times. Chemo taught me that naps are wonderful restorers. Ask any mother who has a child that missed an afternoon nap!
The latest challenge was from the aftermath of insomnia. Mental and physical exhaustion had reached a new low. I had an acquaintance that went out of their way to help me. I am working on a wall hanging as a thank you. Gratitude moves me in ways and with energy that comes from an inexplicable source.
When physical pain stopped me from sewing and quilting I decided to escape my reality through light reading. Whatever works. When I was able to stand and sit without pain again I took out some fabric from my stash that I was “saving “ for something special. It was joyful to work on something just because I loved the fabric.
Some wise person said this too shall pass.
I walk my dog, Annie, almost every day. She’s always so happy it makes me feel good. Not feeling like sewing is a real downer but I think it happens to all of us. I always have lists going. I look at what all I want to do and that makes me tell myself to get my butt in gear so I can get it done. Chocolate and girlfriends are real good to have also.
I’ve definitely tried all of the things listed above by others – plus a good bit of wine. But one thing that has helped me get my mojo back is to pick the one project I’m closest to finishing and pulling it out and working on it. That has really gotten me motivated.
So sorry to hear you’ve got such chronic pain. It must be terribly frustrating for you, with the farm and your business to run. This is a great idea to make a list of the ideas. What I find helps me the most these days, is breaking everything down into smaller tasks and setting a timer. Even sewing a few scraps together for 15 minutes, can help. Also walking daily. And talking over projects with a friend who also sews or crafts things. I also love naps, too!