Learning a habit takes time. It also takes patience, perserverence, and discipline. How many of these things do I possess currently? It depends on the task at hand, I suppose. There are some tasks that I will diligently work at as directed, until they are completed. I can hold myself to a difficult high standard at times.

But if I am the one giving direction to myself, my companion Procrastination steps through the doorway, and with him, Doubt, Overwhelm, and Anxiety. They all start clamoring with questions, ideas, statements, and more questions. It might sound something like this:

Are you sure you want to try that… Wait, didn’t you give up on this same idea three years ago? Maybe you should make sure you have more supplies… Oh, I know! You’re just hungry, go get a snack… It’s late and you have to work for someone else tomorrow, just give up and go to bed. It isn’t a great idea anyway. Oh, but this idea sounds fun! Let’s search the internet for directions, options, and see what supplies we already have. It won’t take long. What time is it? Oh, midnight? I guess I should get some sleep…

And so it goes. Ideas and thoughts that weave through my brain at any given time take up a lot of energy, and lead to not a lot of progress. I’m learning though! I’ve started a list of ideas to capture them, which will hopefully keep them tamed and in order. I’ve started working on clearing up some materials after having moved recently as well. (I might have a paper problem.) I’ve been saving bits of paper from packaging, and finally have most of the larger pieces cut into pages to make signatures and art journals.

Cutting up the paper was a task that didn’t require much true thinking, once I decided what sizes I was going to cut the paper into. It was a production line-type process, and felt good to have some of those things organized! I still found it hard to part with some of the scraps, but did manage to recycle many of the smaller pieces. I hope to use the remaining pieces in these art journals. I may try to gather some friends for a craft night soon.

I have also started a small watercolor notebook, making color swatches with the paints I currently have. This is a great exercise in color mixing, and I learned some things even before I began! Things like, not all pigments are created equal. Not all yellows are the same. And many colors are made up of multiple pigments, so mixing them with other multiple-pigmented paints can create less vibrant colors! I still have much to learn about color theory, but I’ve already learned quite a bit!

Writing is another habit I would like to improve upon. Some of the things I post here may not make much sense, much in the same way six year-olds play tee-ball or soccer. I’m learning the rules of the game, and with practice I can only improve! Am I looking to make it to the World Series or World Cup? Perhaps not, but at the same time, if I don’t try I won’t get any farther than my back yard.

I’ll keep working on my list of ideas, I’ll keep writing things here, and I’ll keep moving forward step-by-step in developing habits. At this point I’m not a guru or expert, but I am a student, and can share what I learn along the way. This blog format may morph as we go, but it’s all part of the process…

You’re welcome to come along on the journey — I’ll bring some snacks!