Confessions of a Scatterbrain

I have way too many interests.

I love to craft. I can quilt, sew (as long as it's not clothing!), paper cut, quill, do origami, make jewelry, and have interests in fabric dying, clay sculpting and clay beads.

I love cooking and baking. Anything from cream soups to bread, cookies to pies- if it's comfort food, I love making it.

I love writing. I can write short stories, books, novels (sort of), funny poetry, spoof songs, and have notes to write cookbooks, craft books and children's stories. I especially love using the cadence from poems and songs to make my own original funny versions- usually for friends and family at parties.

And this is just the 'off the top of my head' list.

I didn't even include my interests in public speaking (aka: talking to groups of people without wetting myself), stand-up comedy (same thing as above, only with jokes), and trying to save the planet by growing herbs in my garden. 

Scatterbrain is a word that suits me- but not just in the sense of the original definition. Yes I can be a little ditsy (just a little), but I also have too many things to focus on that I like to do- which is everything.

So how do I organize all this stuff into a cohesive lifestyle that is clutter and stress free? The answer is very simple.

I don't.

In fact, I can't. And I'll tell you why.

The moment I set pen to paper and try to plan anything specific (like make 'these' kind of beads, or write 'this' particular story), it becomes boring. So boring that I never want to start that project. Ever. I get things done much easier if I don't plan the specifics and keep an open floor plan in the house of my mind, if you will.

There is no 'do this recipe' or 'do that craft'. It's more like 'You need to write.' 'You need to craft something.' You need to bake something.' - Let's use the 'bake something' scenario as an example.

If I schedule 'bake rye bread' I will never make it. There will always be something else to do that's more interesting than baking rye bread- even if it's painting the house. But if I write down 'Bake', that frees my creative mind and allows me to make something awesome- even if I decide in the end to bake rye bread!

Choices can be made depending on how I feel. I could bake something savory. I could bake something sweet. I could do anything from cookies to quiche and it won't matter- because when the time comes to bake, I can bake anything I want because I haven't predetermined my mood. When I write down 'bake' on my weekly calendar I can be thinking cookies, but when the day comes to do the baking, I might make English muffins instead- there is freedom in not planning every minute of my life.

Don't get me wrong- Planning is good. If I have to bake something specific for an occasion, I do it. But if I don't have to, leaving my options open makes life more fun!

One day my life might be more organized, neater, and a lot less stressful. But I will never schedule my creativity, because it will pack it's bags and leave me the second I do! And who else is going to help me complete all these projects?

I am a scatterbrain. It can be exhausting, but it's also really, really fun- Especially if you get a bunch of us together for a brainstorming session!