Welcome back! As promised I’m here to give you part 2 of your PHD beading challenge. Now, if you missed part 1 last week, don’t worry. Just use this link to have a read through that and catch up.
Assuming you’ve spent the week on your first task, you should now have your PHDs organised into four bags or boxes.
- Projects that you stopped because you got stuck
- The projects where you ran out of beads or other materials
- Projects from which you just got distracted
- The projects that you no longer want to complete
If you were really diligent last week, then your fourth box should now be empty. For part 2 of last week’s PHD beading challenge, I suggested that you just take apart all the projects that you no longer want to complete. Return the beads to their respective storage containers and they’re all ready to use on something else.
So, that just leaves you with three boxes to deal with.
Depending on your PHD stash, this may still be filling you with horror. Or perhaps it is now looking more manageable. If you’ve been really ruthless in deciding there are some projects that not longer suit you, then you might have cleared a good part of your pile already.
But, if you are filled with horror at what sits before you, let’s take a look at how we can deal with it.
What gets in the way of completing these PHDs?
So, assuming you really have been honest, the PHDs facing you now are all things that you do actually want to get completed. Why, then, have you not already finished them?
Well, the boxes will be giving you a clue…
Some may have missing materials. Others may be projects on which you got stuck. Both these issues are relatively easy to solve. So, we’ll be looking at how to do that soon.
The bigger question is around getting distracted. What is it that prevents you from completing your projects?
I’m guessing finding time to bead is a big reason. We’ll be looking at that in more detail next week, and I’ll be sharing some of my personal tips to help with that area.
But another reason could well be motivation. I’ve done it myself… Particularly on those projects that have a lengthy section of repetitive work to be done. Or, perhaps it’s on the ‘boring’ bits, like adding a clasp.
Basically, something more interesting comes along. So, you put the existing project to one side, feeling you need a break. That’s fair enough. But the problem comes when you never come back to it.
So, to overcome that, I’m going to try and provide you with two things:
- Moral Support
- An Incentive
You’re going to find both these things in my new Facebook group. Just use this link to access it.
Moral Support
The idea behind the group is to give one another moral support as we finish up our projects. So, you can share your project in its half-completed state, and share progress as you go. We’ll all give you a few shout outs to help you stay motivated. Perhaps a gentle nudge if you need it!
And, if you’re stuck on something, this is also a place to ask for a little help. Please don’t share too much detail of the tutorial (that would be infringing copyright). But if you’ve got general questions, or need some tips, ask away.
Did you know that making yourself accountable to someone else vastly increases your chances of completing a task? For example, if you wake up one morning and tell yourself you’re going to complete something that week, it has less chance of happening than if you tell someone else about your intention. Why is that? Well, few of us have the will-power to hold ourselves accountable. But when we ask others to give us some moral support, we increase our chances of completing something.
The Incentive
Now, have you thought how good it would be if by completing a project you automatically earned a reward to put towards another project?
Yes, imagine if someone ‘paid’ you to complete your PHDs…
Well, that’s what I’m offering to do here. I will be keeping this Facebook group exclusively for Beadflowers customers. Because then I can reward you with ‘free beads’ (that’s my loyalty reward scheme). You can then use them to get money off future projects or books or beads from the Beadflowers website. So, if you are one of my regular customers already, chances are you’ve got a few items on your wish-list….
So, imagine if by finishing your existing projects, you could earn ‘free beads’ to spend on one of those items.
You’re basically ‘killing two birds with one stone’. You’re completing projects AND earning new ones all at once!
How does it work? Everything is explained in the announcements post in the Facebook group. Basically, you need to post a picture of the PHD you want to complete. Then, when you’ve completed it, add your photo of the finished piece to the comments in your original post. Tag me, and I’ll add ‘free beads’ to your account on the Beadflowers website. If your project is one of mine, you’ll earn 100 ‘free beads’. If it’s a project by another designer, or something you’ve made up yourself, you’ll get 50 free beads.
Click here to join the PHD Beading Challenge group on Facebook
Your PHD Beading Challenge for Week 2
So, now you’ve got that background, what do you need to do this week? I’m setting you three tasks…
- Follow this link to join the Facebook group so you can start enjoying some moral support and incentives as you go
- Start going through the box containing projects for which you need more materials. Make a list of all the materials you need, and order them. (Obviously, if now is not a good time to be buying beads for you, just make your shopping list and you can get the materials when you are able).
- Start going through the box of ‘projects from which you got distracted’ and find the ‘easy wins’. So, these would be things like a bracelet that just needs the clasp added. You can start completing these this week…post your images in the Facebook group if you want to be earning your incentive ‘free beads’ as you go.
Next week, I’ll be back here to talk about how to find more time for beading.
I’m afraid I don’t have a time machine. I haven’t managed to fit more than 24 hours into my own days. Nor have I managed to create any 8-day weeks. But, I do have a few tricks for becoming more efficient with the time that you have. So, that’s the next best thing to finding more hours in the day!
Good luck with this week’s PHD beading challenge and I will see you next week…
You can continue straight on to part 3 now by following this link.
