What a great link!

I spend most of my time designing quilt patterns or making samples for the patterns that I've designed. It's like a 9:00 to 5:00 job, except that I fit it in around making breakfast, making lunches, getting kids to school, grocery shopping, housecleaning (well, sometimes!), etc. While I have no problem thinking up lots of new design ideas, I often have a problem getting down to making the patterns and writing the instructions. Yes, I'll admit it, I'm a procrastinator. It's amazing how many things I can find to get in the way of work and it's ironic that the very thing that helps me in my designing is almost my worst obstacle to accomplishing things - the computer. 

In the old days (pre-home computers), quilt patterns would be drafted using your imagination, some graph paper and a pencil and eraser. You would write or type out your instructions and then they would be copied and sold. At least I'm guessing that's how it would be done, since I've never done it that way. My laptop was already well broken in when I started designing patterns and I was already an Electric Quilt afficionado. I use software to design my quilts, draw my appliqué shapes and write instructions. So this means that I'm on the computer for a significant portion of each day. So what's the problem with that, you ask? Well, once I'm working on the computer, I tend to get a little, shall we say, distracted by what else is available there. 


Now before you start thinking that I'm cruising inappropriate websites, let me clarify... I get distracted by emails and quilting websites. I'm also on Facebook, so that has to be checked frequently throughout the day, contrary to what my husband says. This wouldn't be so bad if I only looked at the recent entries and then moved on to my actual work, but wait, look at the link to that great new fabric - and who would've thought that you could do appliqué that way? See what I mean? I'm a link-aholic. I can't resist investigating all that information that is waiting for me just be clicking on links posted by other quilters. Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate all that information and learn a lot, but it does cut down on my productivity. 


I know that I need more self-control to just say no to the links and get back to my own work, but I have a really hard time doing that. I'm hoping that someday someone invents computer blinders, like they use on horses, to keep me focussed on my own work and avoid being distracted by all the other information on the internet. If you think you can help me out, just send me an email - or a link!