I identify with Hamlet because...


One of my greatest failings is procrastination. So many hours of my life have been wasted as I interminably go back and forth in my mind, paralysed by the weight of decision making. Unable to commit. Unable to choose. What to do for the best?

When choosing a kitchen for our first house I ended up with quotes and designs from no less than 14 different companies and of course I pretty much designed it myself in the end.
When painting the interior of my second house white I bought no less than 16 different samples of white. I spent weeks gazing at different squares of white, terrified of choosing the wrong one.


Biscuit fired pottery sits gathering dust while I mull over glaze and decoration choices, even though I was pretty much set on a particular finish the entire time I worked the clay beneath my fingers and experience has shown that I almost always go with that initial choice. However, when the moment arrives to take the decision I panic, I delay, I procrastinate.


On purchasing fabric and yarn, even fabric and yarn purchased specifically for a particular pattern, I become suddenly and totally pulled up to a halt when faced with my purchase, unable to cut, unable to commit. I will begin to research alternatives, I will delay and procrastinate, wasting hours and hours, finding other things to do rather than make the decision.

Some time after Christmas I took a decision, I suppose a sort of New Year Resolution, although obviously a procrastinator like myself cannot commit to actually making firm resolutions; I decided that this year I would try to make some things to sell. I sketched and planned, I thought and pondered, I made list upon list of things to do. I even began to say it out loud now and again. I began to mention it here and there and I even began to finalise a pattern and do a little sewing, no finishing of course, no actual decisive action and the earth continued to turn and time continued to tick.


Then Bethany contacted me about Hatch. Bethany is a lady of action, a decision maker, someone who get things done and she has made Hatch happen, putting her creative ideas into action and achieving so much. Bethany asked me if I would like to contribute some of my work and this made me smile so much, I was so thrilled to be considered. I needed to make the things, they needed to be perfect, so I have been drafting patterns, trying them out, re-drafting, I have been making decisions, making my sketches and following them through and I have a little pile of finished pieces growing slowly but steadily.


It feels good to have taken decisions, to see things completed and I am even beginning to think of it as "my work". I have finished my pieces for Hatch and I am building another little pile of things to offer for sale sometime soon. I have to sort out the website "where and how" (OK, we all know that is a complete fib, I mean to say, my Technical Advisor will sort out the website "where and how" and it will need to be fairly idiot proof too if I am to be in charge of operating it) but I have finished procrastinating and the details will be finalised soon. I think.

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