I still think it is beautiful and I still want to knit it, but I can’t seem to focus on it. In the past I would have set a deadline, made a plan and told myself to just get on with it. But I don’t want to force myself to focus in that way anymore. Least of all in my knitting.
Knowing that our inability to focus can be caused by anxiety, I think we need compassion. And also strategies for reducing such emotional turmoil.
2 – Different tasks use different parts of the brain
I have always felt that, say, knitting a simple sock takes a different kind of energy from knitting a complicated Fair Isle pattern, adapting a pattern for a better fit, or blocking a lace shawl. Goleman explains that it is not just about energy, but that different parts of the brain are involved in different tasks.
What he calls the ‘bottom-up’ brain takes care of more automatic and intuitive tasks. In knitting terms this would be knitting long stretches of stocking stitch, or simple socks (at least for an experienced knitter). The ‘top-down’ part of the brain is needed for tasks that take active cognitive effort, like Fair Isle, learning new techniques, doing maths or finishing a knit. ‘Top-down’ tasks also take more energy.
Let’s take my knitting as an example. I’m currently working on a reconstruction of my inherited knitting sampler.
Interesting read! Just these last weeks I’ve been wondering what will give me a positive drive in these challenging times and I decided I needed some outside stimulation as well, so I decided to resume Norwegian lessons and tonight I will have my first group lesson online. I look forward to the assignments with weekly deadlines I must say.
In the past I was very focus and deadline driven in my knitting until a few years ago my boyfriend said, it’s your hobby, right? Who cares if you have 7 UFO’s? Just cast on something new when you feel like it! And that has been liberating – I take knitting very seriously, but not too an extend that it feels like work.
For 2021 I decided to make a goal list, but a short one with enough time to start spontaneous projects as well. I want to knit a Marius sweater for myself, a hap shawl, a striped sweater, a light colored lace shawl and… I want to finally knit the Bohus kit I bought 5 years ago in Sweden. Maybe I will knit all of these, maybe not?
I found the last few months that for me online testknits and knitalongs are a nice way to have focus and connect with others. Just last night I signed up for the Japanese Sampler Scarf 2021 (a true top down brain project that I will also alter to make it wider, but I have a boring stockinette body to knit as well).
Really interesting to read about all your knitting plans. A lovely list! I’ll be following your progress on Ravelry. And your Norwegian lessons sound great, too. There is a lot of food for thought in your comment – about the positive drive of starting something new, group knitting activities, and your boyfriend’s remark. Thank you!
Who are you learning Norwegian with? The group lesson sounds good.
I’ve been ‘learning’ Swedish for 25 years and haven’t gotten very far. I love the language but have realised it’s not the speaking of it that is so important but the understanding what the native speaker is saying to you. Sounds obvious!
@Janice Evans, I’m taking classes with a local institute for Scandinavian languages. This is my seventh class so far and I can relate to your troubles with understanding. Norwegian is notoriously difficult to understand because of all the dialects! I try to watch Norwegian television, but my partner doesn’t care much for watching tv with subtitles.
Interesting read, and well timed for this fractured focus reader. Sometimes my ideas are like rabbit holes I fall into and lose track of. Sometimes the ideas won’t go away! At any rate the tug between being “in or out” of focus is very familiar to me. Thanks for the post!
It’s always good to hear that I’m not the only one struggling with something. Rabbit holes can be so hard to avoid and tricky to get out of.
That explains why I only completed 5 small projects last year and frogged all my sweaters. It was a knitting nightmare!
Really sorry to hear about your knitting frustrations. I always feel that understanding why something is happening helps. It makes it easier to forgive yourself and start looking for solutions. Hope this year will be better!
Thank you for this! It’s why I’m still working on my second Christmas sock! Likely it’s the same reason my knitter friend has found it best to knit hats now instead of sweaters! Thank you, it’s good to know I’m not the only one ! CM Rav group MelKnitsInOly
Looked at from the positive side, there is a good chance that your second Christmas sock will be finished before Christmas (2021). No, but seriously, I’m hearing this more and more now, and this lack of focus can be bothersome. It really bothers me, and I’m looking for ways to deal with it.