I recently asked on socials if there was anything that I could help with, and it came back with an unexpected request…

I had people asking me how they can crochet less! They were feeling like crochet was taking up too much of their time and some weren’t feeling good about that.

And I get it. When we learn something new, especially when we end up loving it, it can take over all our spare time, and even have us leaving other things that we used to love to do or think we should be doing.

If that sounds like you, then let me help!

Before I do though, I want to preface this by saying that anything I am going to suggest or recommend is based entirely on my own experience and what I have found has helped me. I also want you to really focus on your own experience and take on what feels relatable to you and ignore anything that doesn’t.

Crocheting too much is going to mean different things to different people. We all have different circumstances to deal with. Some of you will work full time, others will work part-time, casual or not at all. We all have different responsibilities. And we all have different values. All of this needs to be factored in when deciding if you are crocheting too much.

To me, crocheting too much is when it takes over other things that you should be doing in your life. If you’re skipping out on responsibilities or things that are important to you, then it might be that your crochet time is becoming a problem. And I am talking about this happening frequently, not just every now and then. Because let’s face it – sometimes we do just need a day or two to just forget about everything that is going in around us.

If you’re starting to feel like you’re crocheting too much then the first thing I would encourage you to do is to journal why. Don’t over think it, just start writing and list all the reasons why you’re crocheting. And I encourage you to ask these questions as you journal…

What am I avoiding when I choose to crochet?

How am I feeling when I first pick up my hook to crochet each day?

What do I feel like I’m missing out on when I am crocheting?

If you answer these honestly you might uncover something that you’re avoidng or escaping from. Something that you just don’t want to deal with. And that can be ok. But just know that if you choose to continue to avoid it and not deal with it you may end up also losing joy in your crochet too. If you’re not getting an answer then keep asking yourself why to every answer you give until something comes clear. Pretend you’re a toddler that keeps asking why when you answer their question…

Crochet is definitely a therapy once you get adept at it. It has a calming affect over the body and can help us to reduce our stress – there are studies to prove it! But remember that we also need to deal with the root of the stress and the worry if we truly want to make any progress. I am one that always likes to delve into the actual problem and determine a real fix, not just a temporary one to make us forget or ignore what is really troubling us.

Identifying why we’re crocheting too much might be confronting. Or it might be a relief to finally acknowledge it. But it can also help us to make a change.

If you’re avoiding something then I encourage you to find a way to face it. If you’re avoiding something that is a challenge, then remember that all growth comes from facing something that is hard and in time and with practice it will stop being so hard.

So how can you make a difference? How can you spend less time crocheting if it really has become a problem?

The simplest way (for me) is to plan out my day and schedule in the crochet time. For example movement (exercise) is important to me and I don’t feel good about myself if I don’t exercise. I therefore make movement one of the first things that I do every single morning. And if I’m truly not motivated or if my body is telling me different, then I will meditate or stretch instead. Either way, it is a priority to me.

Similarly at the end of the day, I like to spend my evening crocheting. But there are things that I need to be disciplined about doing before and after I crochet. I have tasks that I need to do for my business when I finish my work day. If I jump straight into crocheting then I get behind. I also need to make sure that I make time for reading and sleeping too. If I crochet for too long in the evening then I end up too tired to read and I have less time to sleep. A lot of this comes down to self-discipline.

Self-discipline isn’t something that I always have, so I have to put in work-arounds. For example, I have globes in some of the main rooms of our house that we can put on a schedule. I have them scheduled to turn on and off each night so that I am forced to go to bed at a set time. Yes I will sometimes turn them back on, but it’s usually at the expense of reading and sleeping so I always end up regretting it after.

All I can suggest is that you find ways to create your own schedule and your own self-discipline to ensure that you bring your crochet time to an acceptable level. I want you to love your crochet time, not resent it!

You can also get yourself an accountability buddy. They might not crochet too much, but maybe you have a friend or relative that want’s accountability for something else. You can team up and have regular check-ins to make sure that you stick to what you say you’re going to do.

Inside the Hooked on Crochet Club we have an accountability post. This is perfect for being accountable for something each month.

Using a habit tracker can help too. I’ve used a mix of electronic and paper versions to help me to reinforce a habit. I find that paper works best for me. Right now I am refocussing on my spending habits. So every day I don’t spend money unnecessarily I get to shade in a square on my planner. It’s surprisingly effective as I don’t like to miss out on colouring my square.

I also use peloton to track my movement. When I was getting back into an exercise routine I started out by making sure I had a weekly streak, which meant moving at least once a week. Over time that became easy (currently closing in on a 3 year weekly streak) and so I moved to a daily streak. My daily streak is now well over 300 days. Some days is meditation or stretching, but those days have become less and less as time goes by.

I encourage you to explore why you think you’re crocheting too much. Once you know why you can start to implement some change. I would encourage everyone to crochet every single day, but I also encourage you to find balance. If you want extra help finding the balance then I encourage you to come and join the Hooked on Crochet Club. We love to crochet, but I will be there to help you use it for good! And we can all help you to stay accountable with what you need.

Seona x