How to finish a project — a lesson from a black spider

Do you have trouble finishing what you start? Do you have ten million unfinished projects on your dining room table, on the floor in the kitchen, under your bed, in the attic, in boxes in the basement, in your closet, and on the back seat of your car? A black spider taught me how to finish a project.

 

Yes, a black spider. A real one you ask? A real one with eight legs? No, not a real spider. A fabric spider — with eight legs. I am sewing a black fabric spider on a blue sweatshirt to make a  2015 Marcel Legends Scarlet Spider costume for my daughter.

She wanted me to work on two costumes at the same time —2015 Marcel Legends Scarlet Spider costume, and a Spider-Man Legends Wave 1 Ultimate Spider Girl costume.

I couldn’t work on two costumes at the same time.

If you sew two costumes at the same time you will sew the costumes together. Click To Tweet

You can not be in two places at the same time

You can not paint two paintings at the same time, You can not write two stories at the same time. You can not wash dishes and sweep the floor at the same time. And, you can not brush your teeth and clean the litter boxes at the same time. (You might be able to rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time, but that’s different.)

How to finish a project

Focus.
Finish.
Focus.
Finish.
Focus.
Finish.

The only way to finish a project is to focus on one project at a time. Click To Tweet

Why you can’t work on ten million projects at the same time

1. You won’t be able to concentrate because you have ten million projects in your head at once.
2. You loose some of your intelligence by multitasking.
3. You only have two hands.

Wait. Just a minute. I know I was exaggerating. You might think, “Hey Hodges, I don’t have ten million projects going at the same time. I only have ten, or three, or two. I can totally do all of those projects at the same time.”

I know, work on this one a little, then a little bit on that one, and then a little bit on the other one, than a little bit on the next one. Then a little bit on the other one.

And all you will end up with in the end, is a bunch of little bits.

Just like you brush one tooth at a time, and put on one shoe on at a time. Finish one project at a time.

Okay.

Tomorrow morning. Lets try to put on two shoes at the same time. It will be The Shoe Experiment to test my theory.

What works for you? Do you work on one project at a time? Do you have trouble finishing a project? What are you working on now? And, what did you eat for breakfast? (Please answer at least one of my questions, or all of them.) I would love to know what you are working on.

Here are my answers.

I haven’t been able to finish any projects. I have ten million projects all over the house. The project I am working on right now is sewing a black spider onto a blue sweatshirt. And, I ate sardines for breakfast.

Please click here to comment, or scroll to the bottom of the blog. (Hi Mom.)

p.s. I finished sewing one costume tonight, the 2015 Marcel Legends Scarlet Spider sweatshirt. Focus. Finish.

p.s.s  Be careful when you sew the sleeves from the red sweatshirt  into the blue sweatshirt. I had them in backwards and had to rip them out and sew them in twice.