My friend Kim in Pennsylvania last year told me she was helping someone promote a book about time management/stress. His studies found that the main reason people feel like they have no free time is (here's a little test...see how you do):

a) working too many hours at a job
b) family commitments
c) commuting to and from work
d) television

The answer is...D! People watch way more TV than they ever have before. Blame it on cable, satellite TV, or what you will. If you spend a lot of time watching television, think of the hours you're "losing." I don't watch a lot of TV, frankly. But there are some shows I enjoy watching: The Simpsons, the Food Network, shows about archaeology and history. But my family can attest to the fact that I never just SIT and watch telelvision (maybe THAT'S my problem.) If I sit and watch TV, something comes with me: laundry to fold, a needlework project, or some other household task that can be done in front of the tube. The kinds of shows I like to watch (except the Simpsons!) are condusive to doing other things -- I enjoy the listening aspect of cooking shows, history shows, just as much as the visual. So if I'm looking down at my fabric, I don't really feel like I'm missing anything. If you spend a lot of time on the couch, get a good light for over your shoulder, and keep supplies near. Remember to get up and walk around every so often to keep your circulation going, and to keep your neck from stiffening up. And really, if you're just watching TV, flipping stations, recognize that there's nothing good one, and get up and do something else.

But I said I don't watch a lot of TV, and I'm still pressed for time. (Maybe you don't watch much TV either?) Then what? When I was working full time at the university (and part time as a professional web designer), I set my alarm a half an hour early every morning so I'd have that little amount of time to sit and stitch. I have two children, and that quiet time in the morning is 24 karat gold. I still do this once in a while. I'm a morning person, but if you like to stay up late, wait until the kids, pets, spouse have gone to bed, and then start stitching. It is difficult to stitch with lots of activity going on in the house (and some spouses and children hate the feeling they're being ignored). Make some part of the day your time to stitch. Maybe lunch hour at work after you eat quickly, or after the dinner dishes have been cleared, give yourself a little time. Actually resolving to schedule stitching time, and then sticking to it, is one of the greatest little gifts you as a stitcher can give yourself. For a few months now, I haven't allowed myself to turn on my computer on Sundays. As much as I love my job and website (and customers), I need to have ONE day a week where I don't have to worry about Shakespeare's Peddler.

Focus on what's important. I am NOT a type-A personality, but I like to have a clean room when I'm stitching (wherever it is). So I'll take 15 minutes to tidy up a room before I sit and stitch. I think it fools my brain into thinking that the work is all done, so then I can relax and enjoy my needlework. Hey, it works for me. Maybe that little trick will help you, too. I have a hard time relaxing when there's some job pressing down on me (and since I work at home, it's become more difficult for me to tune out the jobs that never end: laundry, the web site, etc...) But cleaning one room helps a lot. For me it's important to have ONE clean room. It is NOT important that my shelves have new contact paper, nor is it important I organize my pens by color. Stitching time must come before something, right?

If you have something else that's requiring your attention, put your needlework away until that thing (child, animal, husband, solicitor, whatever) is taken care of. Here's an example: once in a while when I'm stitching, one of my sons will come and grab me by the hand, "Mom, mom, come here!" I figure I could try to ignore them and keep stitching while they pester me, or I can drop what I'm doing, go look, spend 10 minutes or half an hour playing/reading, and then they'll be satisfied so I can go back to my needlework. I don't stitch every day anymore (gasp!) No time for that luxury. But when I do stitch, I like to do it an hour or two at a time. I feel I get more done in longer stretches. Separating needlework from the rest, rather than trying to deal with two things at once, also helps me get more accomplished with both.

Another great trick many stitchers are using is new designers who design quick and easy projects. Many of you tell me how much you love designers like Lizzie Kate, Bent Creek, Drawn Thread, and others whose smaller, simpler designs are quickly accomplished. Rather than spending 15 minutes trying to get one specialty stitch done, fly through some cute and quick cross stitching. A lot of these designers are doing NO backstitching (how wonderful), but using the latest colors, fabrics and fibers to make a project a lot of fun. So while it's "just" cross stitching, it's still a blast to work with something variagated, fuzzy, shiny or hand-dyed.

Do you spend a lot of time on the phone with friends? Get a speaker phone and chat and stitch at the same time. Do you like to spend a lot of time preparing meals? Treat your family to take out once a week and use the extra time for stitching (or throw in the oven a convenience meal like a pre-made lasagna). How about a long commute? See if you can go in half an hour early and leave a half an hour early to save time in the car. Spend time ironing every week? (When was the last time I did THAT? Ha ha, again!) Have the cleaners press your clothes. Instead of making two or three little trips to the grocery store each week, do all of your shopping one day each week to save a few trips in the car. I take my needlework to guild meetings for obvious reasons! But at the general meetings, I'm sometimes the ONLY ONE who has done so. What's that all about? I even heard that one brave woman took her needlepoint to the opera with her -- how divine!

Granted, some things need to come BEFORE your stitching: your family should come first, and if your pet needs to run outside, you better take care of that. But what other little unnecessary jobs have you given yourself around the house that could wait or go undone? I save all of my cleaning (except laundry, which is a daily chore) for Fridays, and I really can get a good momentum going. Shortly after lunch on Fridays every week, I'm done with the vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms, floors, and general pick-up. Remember, though, you also are important. And your family and friends want you to be a happy person. You stitch, because it makes you happy. If you're not getting in time for what you love, how fair is that?

If it's difficult for you to see where you might find some time for needlework, make a list of the kinds of things you do every day. Keep track for two weeks, then look back and see where you've been spending your time. You might be surprised at where it's all going.

Well, the afternoon sunshine is streaming through my patio door, offset by a beautiful spring breeze. And I don't know about you, but I'm set for some stitching. You go get some done, too.

© 2007 Theresa Venette. Articles on this site may be reproduced in needlework group newsletters or other handouts with permission of author and proper attribution. Send questions, comments and suggestions to: xspeddler@yahoo.com