Projects of my Own — The 21st Century Matriarch

I am savoring projects that are my own these days after years when most of my projects were assignments or done to benefit someone else. I’m not totally done with those projects-directed-by-others but these days the majority of projects are my own - conceived, done, and enjoyed just for me.

What do I mean by ‘projects’?

Projects are a series of activities that lead to a specific goal and, for the purposes of this post, they have a beginning and end.

I have four main project areas right now:

Classes. Each Coursera class is a project for me. I decide what I will do beyond the watching of videos. Usually I follow up on the reference material. Sometimes I buy the book and read it. And finally - I write notes about the class…what I think about the subject, if I agree or disagree with the instructor, how my perception of the school offering the course is changed by the course, what the course has changed about the way I think…or act.

Sewing. Each garment I make is a mini-project. Sometimes I make a series of similar items (like the Two T-shirt dresses); others are one of a kind. I spend calm time before sleep planning the project, then do a lot of measuring. I sometimes challenge myself with ‘rules’ like

No hand sewing
Minimize scraps
Avoid buying any new supplies

Blog themes. I sometimes have multi-post themes for my blog and consider each a project. Some of them are monthly - like the 3 Free eBooks picks - and they are on the planning calendar I do for the year. Some are over a shorter time - 2 or 3 months; the Becoming 60 theme is an example of that. Those too go on the calendar with notes of the main points to be included in that post.