Yesterday I decided to unplug a large portion of the day and see if I could focus my time on achieving something previously I’ve not been able to do before – crochet. I wanted to conquer a simple piece in a limited amount of time.

I was lucky that I had this time; I really needed some space, which meant doing something, not tapping on a keyboard or whirling around the internet. Learning something new would be a perfect challenge for me. It’s something I’ve also previously failed at – so if it worked out, there would be an accomplishment.

I sat down, setting some boundaries and making things as easy for myself as possible. I had had a few stops and starts over the week before on this and kept getting in knots (literally). Picking a thick yarn hook would create the piece fast and allow me to see things easier. I choose a simple square; the pattern was a dishcloth – although I admit unsure I’ve created one, it’s a ‘cloth’.

Fast forward a few hours, and I had this cloth complete; not only that, I had learnt 3 simple stitches, how to turn and also where I’d gone wrong. I could see as I was working where my tension was even starting to make more sense. I could no longer say I couldn’t crochet! That is a huge milestone and gave me such a boost this week.

It made me think, given boundaries and a focus time. There’s so much you can do. Perhaps approaching more things this way is the way forward. I’d removed those barriers I’ve hit before, made it simple and set myself up for success. I did something previouslydaunting, and I got that hit of ‘did it.