Bit of a sore topic for me, how do you stay organised and focussed on the work you do? I really struggle with confidence and sometimes motivation. I have a teaching job and I feel it really takes me away from my hobby of making things.
Any advice would be great.
As a shrink, I deal with these issues daily on a professional level. There can be a number of reasons, but the main one is poor organisational skills as you have identified. This is principally a lack of planning and a lack of direction, which leads to feeling overwhelmed by a world of seemingly competing tasks.
In life and in woodworking, it is necessary to work with a sequential plan. What makes this so difficult for many (in my opinion) is the use of bloody To Do lists! What happens is that one writes down everything desirable, with new items added to the bottom of the list, with the result that lists grow longer and longer .. and feel increasingly overwhelming. This leads to a sense of failure, feeing stressed and confused. I am commonly told, "my world feels like everything is coming at me at the same time". Paralysis follows.
These lists should be called "Wish Lists". That is all they are good for. Good to have a list (actually essential), but not to use this way. What you need to do is instead learn to prioritise tasks. Create an "Action List" (my name). This is no more than 2 or 3 things you plan to do. These are tasks that need to be done
today. Start with the big picture - what is the result you are aiming for. Now break these down into the essential components. I call these "Chapters" (like in a book). Now create an "
Action Plan" for each task. That involves breaking each task down into small chunks, and determining the sequence in which they need to be done. It also really - really! - helps to allocate a time to start tasks.
I live this. One task at a time. But, if interrupted, as life is sure to do, then my Action Plan enables me to put aside the activity and later get back to where I left off, and also know specifically what needs to be done for each activity. This is the key to avoiding confusion, and breaking down each task into the smallest of steps makes it possible to understand what and how it is to be done.
Regards from Perth
Derek