There has been a delay in the delivery of the fabric that I ordered for a quilt which turns out to be to my advantage. While waiting, I began to organize the production. I labeled each piece in the mural by number and measured the finish size and entered all of this in a spreadsheet. I next calculated the additional fabric needed for the seam allowance to arrive at a cutting size. Then I ordered the pieces in like sizes or batches so that I can cut multiple colors at the same time. I ended up with 18 batches that include 93 pieces. This will allow me to do the cutting, sewing, pressing, cutting again, sewing again and final pressing in stages. Kind of like a one person assembly line.
I used this strategy when I was making the masks during the pandemic. I have organized my morning routine which involves the same things each day in a manner that minimizes the number of steps and unnecessary actions, and is purposeful. In order to regulate my time for meditation rather than relying on the time of day, I ordered my routine to “sandwich” meditation between making the bed and showering, two tasks that I do without fail. This way I am sure to practice, and since I have implemented this strategy I haven’t missed and can’t believe I didn’t think of this ages ago.
While routinized actions may seem boring, inflexible and uninspiring, I find it liberating. I know what needs to be done and when to do it. Contrary to what one might be thinking right now, I am not so set in my ways that I can’t adjust as need be by allowing more or less time as the situation requires. I am also aware of the possibility that the routine becomes mindless, like making the coffee but neglecting to turn the coffee pot on. So I am extra attentive to focus on each of the tasks and a goof is a great reminder to remain attentive. There are other strengths that I may exhibit in these examples, such as, productive, practical or proficient. I am sticking with efficient for now.