Profound Woodworking Conundrum

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This is incredibly sad, lately I have been hit with the dreaded PWC. No not a wayward personal water craft, but Profound Woodworker Conundrum.

Its just there is so much taking up my time, from foster parent classes, to rustling up some cows, to figuring out where I am going to cut wood next, to just plain family gatherings, that my time is...well...fragmented at best.

Right now I have a few hours I can go into my shop and get things done, and I want to, I enjoy woodworking, but its so frustrating because I know I don't have time to get anything meaningful done. So my projects sit idle. In the meantime I start something and fail to finish it. Like my shoulder plane that needs just a bit of work and it will be done. Or my dovetail saw that needs far more work, but with idle hands is not getting anywhere. Then of course there is the Engine Lathe I started to build...

Over the past few weeks I have walked in there several times with a few hours in which to work and just mopped about. No real drive as I know it might be days or weeks before I can get back in there.

Can anyone relate? Does anyone else suffer with this, or is this just some sort of woodworker's block that I have that is indeed rare? Does anyone have a cure?
 
This is incredibly sad, lately I have been hit with the dreaded PWC. No not a wayward personal water craft, but Profound Woodworker Conundrum.

Its just there is so much taking up my time, from foster parent classes, to rustling up some cows, to figuring out where I am going to cut wood next, to just plain family gatherings, that my time is...well...fragmented at best.

Nope, it's not PWC Travis, it's the effects of "the quickening". You have been assimilated.

good luck eh?:)

cheers
 
The more we do, the more we want to do, the more we can't do, the more we have to do, the more we need to do, the more we forget to do.

Pretty Common Occurance...

Ain't We All...
 
The more we do, the more we want to do, the more we can't do, the more we have to do, the more we need to do, the more we forget to do.

Pretty Common Occurance...

Ain't We All...
Hey Bill, I really like that! :thumb: I have written it down and am going to post a sign in my shop with that exact quote. Is it yours, or should I attribute it to someone else?
 
Yup, I struggle with that too. It used to be much worse as I'd have a dozen projects going at once and not getting anywhere on any of them. The thing I figured out was, that I lost focus on what I needed to be doing next. I finally got a notebook and wrote down where I left off and short list of what still needed to be done. Also started a "grocery" list of things I needed, so when I went to the borg I'd know what I needed to pickup. This has helped a bunch and kept my "ongoing" projects on track...hope this helps.
 
Hey Bill, I really like that! :thumb: I have written it down and am going to post a sign in my shop with that exact quote. Is it yours, or should I attribute it to someone else?

Just thunk it up, Frank... I might write it down too. Getting to be a Motto around here. :wave:
 
More or Less

Greetings
Procrastination is never your friend! I liked the saying posted by Bill, and now I'll have to carve it. See below in pdf.
 

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Obviously in the minority here. I probably average 20+ hours shop time most weeks. :dunno:

Yes, I too get at least 20 hours a week, I don't waste time on things like TV, and I have a fairly organized life.

It also helps that the kids are not little anymore, and I've learned to NOT bite off more than I can chew, some people never learn this...........took me a while..... :doh:

I remember I guy I worked with, always trying to do ten things at once, and he usually messed up all ten.

:wave:
 
Travis -

Some of the things that help me are knowing that I don't have to finish a project all at once.

Sometime my shop space gets cluttered. This demoralizes me. I'm learning that it really does help to just put one or two things away whenever I walk through the shop space. Just putting a couple screwdrivers away every morning on the way to work has an amazing effect by the end of the week.

The other thing is that I don't have to do any of my hobbies. If right now I'm getting more enjoyment out of life by typing on the computer picking on Stu (and this can be quite entertaining! :wave: ) instead of playing in the shop, so be it. My free time is exactly that, my free time. I'm not going to get myself all stressed out over whether I played with hobby A or hobby B on my time - too much other stuff that makes stress, I don't need to help the stress monsters!

Good luck with everything - regardless how much shop time you get in, don't stress over your free time. It always sounds like you have way more things going on than I could deal with - maybe your body is trying to tell you it needs restful relaxation instead of doing stuff relaxation. That's something you need to figure out though. Nothing wrong with either.
 
Travis you asked if anyone had a cure. I don't have a cure, but this is how I do things. I get the same attitude you do sometimes, so I constantly (In fact every day make a old fashion to-do list. Some of the things are not even related to woodworking, maybe fixing something around the casa, if I get the "Conundrums", I check out my list and do something besides woodworking. Make your list small chores like "fix the spring on the screen", "change the light bulb in the utility room", so you don't get real envolved. Even on my woodworking list I keep the chores short like "router the edges of two doors", "stain one cabinet", "sharpen the chisels today". I may even jump up from the computer and go do one little thing on the list. It's surprising how soon everything gets done. If I'm a little confused and in doubt what to do I'll clean up the shop, while thinking all the time what to do next. I make my list in Word in text form, and usually print out the list and stick in my pocket for the day, any extra notes or stuff I need, anything like that I just put on the list and update it at night or the next time I get on the computer. Just a suggestion, works for me.
 
Geez, I'd better start paying attention, I had no idea :rolleyes: :rofl::rofl: :wave: :D

Sorry Stu, but it has finally gotten boring picking on Ned about his roof... :eek: :wave: :rofl:

Gerald has a good point - the other day I was just about to hop on the puter and waste away the evening but decided to resize 50 cases for 308 instead. The next thing I knew I had a big blister on my finger from working the press and 200 cases were sized. I know this isn't woodworking, but the principle is the same. Just decide to do something small and be ok if that is all you do or if you get it done and do more.
 
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... The other thing is that I don't have to do any of my hobbies. If right now I'm getting more enjoyment out of life by typing on the computer picking on Stu (and this can be quite entertaining! :wave: ) instead of playing in the shop, so be it. My free time is exactly that, my free time. I'm not going to get myself all stressed out over whether I played with hobby A or hobby B on my time - too much other stuff that makes stress, I don't need to help the stress monsters! ....

Mark ... you have it figured out :) ... welcome to the resistance - we will not be assimilated :)
 
i get this way too, lately it's been bad because i do woodworking for a living and i really am not getting to do what i wish i could do. there just isn't a market for really high end cabinet work around here. everything is price driven so unfortunately i have to lower some of my standards to earn a living.

i find now that we're about to start construction on our home and since i am the contractor i get easily distracted from my work, i am lucky things are not on a tight schedule at the moment or I think i'd be in trouble.
 
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