Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Opposite of Perfectionist

Admission: I am so not a perfectionist. So not detail oriented. Also, I am one of those people who starts things with really great intentions, and then gets three quarters of the way through and never finishes.

 My parents would tell you this is not a recent development. Throughout childhood, I attempted a variety of sports and hobbies--swimming, jazz dance, horseback riding, tap dance, softball... I always wanted to quit midway through the season.

These traits combined lead to some pretty cool projects that I start and then give up as soon as there are details or precision measuring involved. I have really great intentions, but not a lot of follow through.


Not long ago, I decided it would be not too difficult to make some covers for our couch pillows. I have a sewing machine, I sort of know how to use it. How hard could this be?


They are pretty cute, right? What you don't see is the unfinished edges (that frayed in two days), the uneven stitching (meh, I couldn't be bothered to iron or pin or any of that detail-y stuff!) and the loose seams that ripped open in a few weeks. Oops. (For your information, I went back and fixed the loose seams several months later. And left the edges unfinished. They are still fraying.)

I can't even finish my coffee. Ask my husband, I drink 3/4 of a cup and then leave the rest sitting there. Every single day.

Early this morning at work, I got the dreaded email from accounting saying my last bank deposit had been off. So I pulled the reports, checked it out, and realized I had not made one mistake but three. Yikes.

I thought at some point that I could be ADD. That would be a great excuse for the lack of attention to detail, and the distraction halfway through. Except I know deep down that's not really the case. Most of the time, the truth is that I'd rather be curled up in my pajama pants, reading a good book.

A good book. Now that's something I've never had a hard time finishing.





1 comment:

Comments are my love language! Thanks for sharing :)