I AM SPINNING MY WHEELS!

I feel for you, Cozmo! We have ALL been there, and it isn’t fun. Especially around the holidays when you really want to get things done. It sucks. Maybe you are overwhelmed thinking of all the things you want to do. This is a really stressful time for everyone and maybe it would be good to take a breath and look at things one project at a time and go easier on yourself.

It is difficult to step back and slow down when you are wanting to get everything done at once. But sometimes it is the best way to approach things. Perhaps it is time to lower your expectations from yourself and just do what you can. I have seen you make many wonderful projects and I think when you are relaxed and going at your own pace you are capable of making really awesome stuff. But putting too much pressure on yourself takes the fun out of woodworking for you and maybe that is affecting the result.

I hope this helps. I am sure it is temporary and you will be back to normal before long.

Sheila

-- Contributing Editor, Creative Woodworks and Crafts, Sheila Landry Designs http://www.sheilalandrydesigns.com "Knowledge is Power"

if you can’t beat them
join them
get away from the shop
till things calm down

we know what you can do
you know what you can do

you don’t need to impress anyone

take time to enjoy the rest of your life
and your family/friends

everyone is partying now
enjoy it with them

your tools will show
and you will come back refreshed

-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle

You guys are GREAT! You are both right! Thanks! Now I know why I like this site so much. It’s the people!

-- If you don't work, you don't eat!.....Garland, TX

one thing im thinking of that sometimes results in a project gone bad..is lack of planning or poor planning…i like to think about a project in my head well before i make it…i visualize the whole thing…what tools i need…how it will look all of it….dont know if that is a part of your problem, but just a few of my thoughts on this…i hope you can get it together soon…having one success might break the streak of your problem…

-- GRIZZMAN ...[''''']

Physical exertion always does it for me. Try splitting wood or raking leaves and ponder what you’d like to create.

-- "The way to make a small fortune in woodworking- start with a large one"

if not for the bad days, you woudnt know if you were having a good day…..

Did you shave your beard? That could be the problem

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Ya know Charlie,...I did shave it! Maybe you’re on to something there!

-- If you don't work, you don't eat!.....Garland, TX

Sometimes I just have to turn off the lights, lock the door, and leave the shop for a while.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://americancraftsmanworkshop.com

I’ve had this condition for months. I’ve got 6 projects, and just don’t feel like doing any of them. Managed to work on my ‘70 Chevy truck over Thanksgiving, and more today and it runs better, but still needs work. Did some bodywork on my ‘68 Skylark GS, but not finished. Maybe I’m just getting old…or maybe it’s just getting up at 3:10 AM and getting on the hamster wheel of employment, and getting home at 5 PM on a good day, only to fix dinner for my wife, her mother and my and spawn.

Cozmo, been there,done that. It gets more prevalent the older you get. I go thru this about once a year. Hang in there you will get over it.

-- Don't rollerskate in a buffalo herd

I call it wood block. It’s sort of like writer’s block. I get it often. Sometimes going to buy a new tool works for me. I’m not talking nothing that’ll break the bank. A few weeks ago I got wood block. I went to the hardware store. I done some “window” shopping. I bought a new tape measure and some carpenter’s pencils. I came back to the shop a new man.
I now one thing that may be bothering you if you haven’t already figured it out. You’re a scroller. A scroller can’t function properly without a scroll saw in the shop. I’m serious. I founf that out last time I was without a scroll saw. Without a scroll saw in the shop, nothing, and I mean NOTHING worked out right. Not even projects that didn’t even require a scroll saw. So now days I always have more than one scroll saw in the shop. I don’t mean rush out and buy an expensive second saw. Start looking for a cheap used one though. A scroller has to have a scroll saw close by. Without it, all the karma gets out of whack and nothing else in the shop runs well either.

-- http://wddsrfinewoodworks.blogspot.com/

I am in the same boat; work, kids and wife’s laser eyes keep me from the garage.
My other life duties stop me from diving into projects. Maybe when I retire …..or die

-- Scott "Some days you are the big dog, some days you are the fire hydrant"

I get so wound up just thinking and planning about all the woodworking I’m going to do when I get home, or tomorrow, or on the weekend….by the time I get to the shop, I can’t think straight and I don’t get anything done aside from admiring a few nice pieces of wood.

Sometimes it’s hard to find the right state of mind…

-- Optimists are usually disappointed. Pessimists are either right or pleasantly surprised. I tend to be a disappointed pessimist.

either you need to make a not with all the task every day and cross them over when they are done
or take a big bowl make a note with every little thing you want to do
put them up in the bowl and drag one at a time like in a lotto…LOL

Dennis