Let’s be honest now. How many WIPs (works in progress) do you currently have? And how does it make you feel?

Maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed as you have way too many on the go. You’re finding it daunting and hard to focus on a single project because you know that there are so many others that need to be finished.

Does starting a new project knowing that you have others still to finish make you feel guilty? Especially if they’ve been sitting untouched for so long. Or maybe it’s frustrating because all you seem to do is keep on starting new projects (we all know how exciting it is to start a new project right?!) but you never or rarely finishing one?

Are you regretting even starting one or more of the projects? Maybe you were intending one as a gift or the yarn you bought for a project was more than you really should have spent. Or maybe you’re starting to realise how much money you have put towards yarn that you’re not using?

Then there is the stress from seeing them all and running out of space to store them. The creativity block because you can’t stop thinking about the projects you ‘should’ be working on instead. Or you’ve lost your crojo from just thinking about all that you need to work on and you really wish you could finish something!

All of these feelings are normal. But they are all feelings that can be managed, and that is what I am going to help you with today!

There are 4 steps that you need to follow to get your projects under control.

The first step is to make a list of all your projects. And I mean all of them. Even the ones you started a decade ago and don’t want to own up to having not finished. List them, I promise it will free you in the end.

Once you have your list, you need to ‘code’ them. How you code them is up to you (symbols, colour codes, different fonts), but you need to indicate for every project as applicable:

• If you’re enjoying making it
• If you’re not enjoying making it
• If it has a deadline to finish by
• If you’re almost finished making it

You then need to group them.

Group 1 needs to be everything that has a deadline or close to being finished AND you’re enjoying making it.

Group 2 needs to be anything that you’re NOT enjoying making, PLUS it has a deadline or is close to being finished.

Group 3 is everything without a deadline, is not close to finishing AND you’re enjoying making it.

Group 4, the final group is everything that you’re NOT enjoying AND it does not have a deadline AND is not close to being finished.

Once you have your groups sorted, you need to plan when you will work on them.

How you plan them is going to depend on what time you can set aside for crochet. But there are some general rules to how you can prioritise them out in your week.

The projects in Group 1 are the ones you need to make the most time for and the ones you need to schedule in to do first. Prioritise them based on their due date first and how close you are to finishing second.

Group 2 projects are the ones that you want to set small blocks of time to work on, making sure that you make enough time to get them finished before their deadline.

Group 3 are the ones that you’re likely to want to work on more than group 2, so you need to sprinkle in time for these when you can. Working on these will keep you motivated for working on the ones you don’t want to work on in group 2.

And Group 4 is my favourite. You’re going to FROG EVERYTHING in this group. EVERYTHING. You’re not enjoying making them, but you are going to enjoy frogging them and finding a new, more fun project for the yarn! They have no deadline. They aren’t close to being finished. You have nothing to lose and so much to gain by frogging these so that you can make something else. This is me giving you permission.

Now I am also aware that this is a lot of information to digest, so I am making it easier for you as I have created a Crochet Project Planner. This is a digital download that you can use to do everything that I have covered above and do it simply. My Hooked on Crochet Club Members have been giving it a test drive and have found it super helpful. It has pages set up to help you easily list, categorise and group your projects. It also has planning pages so you can plan your time either weekly or monthly or both. AND as a bonus I have also included an individual project planner page so that you can keep the essential details of each individual project in a handy sheet. And being a digital download it also means that you can print out the pages you need over and over again. There is no need to buy a new book everytime you fill it.

This planner is going to help you feel more in control of your projects. That number you had at the very beginning is going to get a lot smaller and a lot more manageable because you’ll have a plan that works in place to get them done! You can get your WIPs under control (finally!) by purchasing it and getting started on planning today. It’s available at the places below:

online store | etsy

You can thank me later.

Seona x