Quilting Productivity

Weekly To-Do Lists Aid Quilting Productivity

I am a list person; I love to cross items off a list and ultimately add items to my list just to cross them off. Raise your hand if you do the same. By all means, create the list, add items, and cross things off the list! After all, the lists are meant to help us feel productive, specifically regarding our quilting productivity.

As my brain matures, I now find that those lists help keep me focused. Well, at least a little bit. In the last decade, my quilting productivity has waned. In years past, I could concentrate on numerous projects at a time. That productivity decreased significantly! I had to find a way to get my quilting groove back. Over the past year, I created a list of quilting items to accomplish each week.

Babysteps to Jumpstart Quilting Productivity

I choose weekly increments rather than monthly because my brain needs instant gratification or near-instant gratification. As a matter of fact, I feel too overwhelmed when I look at everything that needs to be completed. It is all well and good to create an extensive master list, but that may not work for everyone. I start with a short list:

• Weekly Quilting To-Do List
  • Cut scraps into the following sizes: 2 1/2″ strips, 2 1/2″ squares, 4 1/2″ squares, 6″ squares, 10″ squares, and Fat Quarters.
    • The above cuts are standard sizes I use, and in the case of 5″ and 10″ blocks, they can be cut down into 2 1/2″ blocks with no waste.
  • Machine quilt: spend some time each week working on what is on the machine
    • Even if I only quilt one pass across, it is still forward progress
  • Bindings: Aim to work on bindings 3 – 4 days a week in the evening while hubby is watching his shows (that I don’t care for but want to spend time in the same room as him).
  • Work on Scrappy Blocks: Even as I add precut scraps to the bin, I need to continue to create something with them.

Monthly and Yearly Goals

I do keep a running list of some monthly and yearly goals. This is especially important if I have gifts I am working on. This year I only had one quilt gift. It happened accidentally when my niece saw a quilt I was working on. She got very excited over it…so it became part of her gift.

Monthly Goals

• Finish the quilt on the machine
• Make progress on the scrap fabrics
• Work on Scrappy blocks and patterns for the blog
• Complete that month’s project from Quilt Buster List
• Take pictures of finished projects

Yearly Goals

• Complete the projects listed on the Quilt Buster List
• Create block patterns to use up scraps
• Organize and declutter the sewing/craft room. This goal is an ongoing process. My goal is to end the year better than I started.
• Organize pictures for the year-end review

Looking forward to seeing the results of your productivity. Sharing your progress consequently influences my productivity.

Quilty To-Do List

Click the pdf link below to download and save the file.

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Until next time.