12 Crochet Tips For The Restless and Distracted
Are your legs always jiggling or your hands always moving? Do you find it impossible to stay in one position, or even one room? Is it hard to focus on stitches when your body and your brain are constantly bouncing around? You can still crochet. I’m going to share some tips to help you stay on track, but also demonstrate why crochet is THE BEST hobby for people with busy bodies.
I am a certified fidget. To the extent that I’ve been asked if I’m okay by a kind stranger in the dentist waiting room because I was bouncing around so much. And the critiques I have got on my YouTube videos are that my hands moving around is too distracting for them to be watchable… So all that said, you might think crochet could never be the right hobby for me, right? Wrong! And today I’ll share exactly why it’s a great hobby for us, whether you are just a fidgety, distractible person or another member of team ADHD.
Crochet is so often associated with sitting all relaxed and calm. I’m rarely relaxed and almost never calm, yet I crochet almost every day. So how does it work? Well, let me break it down for you with my 12 tips. And I will be moving my hands a lot as we go.
Choose somewhere spacious
Chairs with high arms or that are a tight fit might feel cosy, but when you shift position a lot you’ll find that everything ends up down the sides of it before you’ve barely begun
Sit Weirdly
I don’t sit how most humans sit. I mostly sit on my feet, but I shift position a lot. If you constrain yourself to one back straight neatly seated position, you just won’t stay there for very long.
Position your tools
Put your crochet tools in a place that allows you some movement. Don’t dump them all in your lap, have them near enough to pick up but not so close that you are going to knock them all over the place.
Make sure you have everything you need before you start
If I have to go and get something to get going, I’m highly likely to get distracted along the way and never get going.
Background activities
Even if my brain isn’t switched into it, I will always have something on in the background. For me it’s usually YouTube videos that are more podcast based so less visual, or music.
Decrease distractions
I know I just said use background noise, but I find I focus best and move around least when there are fewer other things going on. If possible choose a room where your family, pets, friendly neighbours and noises from outside aren’t going to remove your attention.
Keep sessions short
And enforce those short periods with yourself. Set a timer on your phone, and another one on your tablet, and another one on the oven just to be sure. If they all go off, you might actually get up.
Multi-Task
Have several projects on the go for you to swap between. Don’t tell yourself you must finish one thing before moving onto another. That’s not happening.
Consider Moving
I sometimes stand and crochet, and have a couple of times stuck some yarn in my pocket and crocheted whilst wandering around, but for me personally I’m more likely to get distracted, plus the tangle risk is high. However, allowing myself to flick my foot around like crazy helps my hands to focus.
Drink Coffee
This one probably doesn’t apply to everyone watching, but coffee is a stimulant and for those of us with a particular neurology, when used appropriately it can really help to simmer down those distracting impulses.
Exercise First
This one isn’t going to be universally popular. Feel free to comment not likely if it’s not for you, but physically tiring yourself before settling down to a craft (or work) is so helpful for me. Even if it’s 15 minutes on the treadmill or lifting some weights, whatever is within your own capabilities but gets your body moving (and a little bit sweaty) you might find helps to keep you in one place for a while afterwards.
Chew Gum…
Terrible life, environmental and dental advice, but for me it’s like a fidget I can fiddle with while I work. Depending on my mentality at the time, I go through a lot of gum, particularly when I’m working, driving or crocheting. Terrible habit, but hey, you do what you have to!
