How to Create More Time for Your Craft

As crafters, it can sometimes feel impossible to find time in our day to craft. Whether responsibilities keep piling up on your plate at work or you’re managing a household with and without kids, there never seems to be enough time in the day as it is. Let alone enough time to slow down and craft. Here are some tips that have helped me reclaim some time in my day, allowing me to slow down just a little and knit.

1 | Create a routine

Routines help to provide stability and order to what could be an otherwise chaotic day. Routines create a framework so that you can schedule a time to tackle your various projects & responsibilities. By helping you promote positive habits, like sleep and exercise, you’ll be less stressed and will likely sleep better!

Creating a list of the tasks that will make up your routine is one thing, but how do you make it routine?

  • Be Consistent! Start doing the same things at the same times each day and soon it will become second nature.

  • Wake up and go to bed at the same time every day (even on weekends). Having a set wake and sleep schedule creates a strong bookend for your day and will help you improve your sleep cycles.

  • Create a morning routine. How meta does that sound? It seems silly, but creating a small routine for your morning, and sticking to it, will help you stick to your routine throughout the rest of your day. Stay tuned next week for a peak into my morning routine.

2 | Prioritize your time

Sit down each morning, think about the tasks you need to accomplish and see where you can pencil in time for your craft, even if it’s just 10 minutes. I promise that those 10 minutes will help you to reclaim a sense of self. While thinking about all of the tasks on your plate, don’t forget to prioritize your personal tasks, too. Maybe choose a specific day of the week for all of your household chores. For me, Sunday mornings are all about cleaning, laundry, and getting my home ready for the week ahead. Sitting on the couch on Sunday night with a clean house, a candle burning, a glass of wine & my knitting gives me a sense of calm before the Monday crazies.

3 | Put down your phone

I struggle with this all day, every day. So much of my full-time job relies on being connected - to email, Slack, and the internet. And I’m on Instagram constantly to try and promote my designs and journal posts. But, the key to finding “more” time and getting more done is to put down that phone and stop the scroll. If you’re scrolling, you’re not knitting, crocheting, quilting, etc. Put down the phone and pick up the needles. You get the point.

4 | Multitask

This is my favorite tip. Most of my knitting time is at the end of the day. After we have dinner and put Jackson to bed, Jason and I watch about 2 hours of TV. That TV time is when I get most of my knitting done. It helps me relax before bed, and I still feel like I’m productive. Every now and then I can sneak in some knitting during a zoom meeting, too.

5 | Give Yourself Grace

Some weeks will be more challenging than others to keep to your routine and schedule. Some weeks you still may not have any time to connect with your craft, and that’s okay. We’re constantly being pulled in different directions, and no one can be everything to everyone. Give yourself a little bit of grace.

6 | Take Your Craft with You

Choose knitting & crochet patterns with simple repeats and minimal shaping so that you can take your project with you. You can sneak in a few rows on your lunch break or your morning commute. By choosing a pattern that doesn’t require you to lug a notebook around and keep meticulous track of your pattern notes, you’ll be more likely to bring it with you, pick it up, and knit. I focus on creating knit and crochet designs that are easy to knit with easy to memorize stitch patterns, minimal shaping, and unfussy finishing techniques. This way you can take your projects with you and pick them up whenever you have a few moments to share. Shawls are especially great projects for portability. Here are a few of my recent favorites:

Tell me in the comments below, how do you find time for your craft?


Kirsten JoelComment