9 little project to focus on when life gets hard
Coming to you from the trenches...
On the 14th of June, my mum died.
Her death wasn’t unexpected. She’d been battling stage 4 brain cancer for 9 months and 30 days — which is 1 month and 30 days longer than the average life expectancy for someone with a grade 4 glioblastoma.
But no matter how much you pre-grieve, go to therapy, or prepare yourself, nothing truly gets you ready for the moment you say that final goodbye.
It still feels surreal. I imagine it will feel surreal for a long time.
It almost feels silly to say that. Death is the most real thing any of us will experience. But what feels surreal is that life keeps going. I keep going, even though my lovely mum, the centre of my world since the day I was born, is gone.
As you can probably tell, I’m currently in the trenches. But I’m not someone who enjoys sitting still. And despite how much I wish time could pause or rewind, life insists that we keep moving. So, I’ve been spending my energy on little projects.
I love a little project. To me, a little project is something that takes just enough mental energy to keep me distracted, but not so much that it becomes stressful. I want to feel creatively fulfilled, but not overwhelmed.
Little projects are lovely because they give you just enough to do. They pull you into a task that requires focus, but not panic. There’s no space to spiral about the state of the world when you’re busy choosing a zipper or picking aesthetic images for my mood board. You know why? Because you’re completing a little project!
If you’re grieving something big or small, or just feeling despondent about the state of the world, here are a few little projects that are helping me get through.
Make a bag
Bags are the perfect low-stakes sewing project. No stress about body measurements, minimal fabric required, and they’re usually quick to finish. I made the Billy Bag by Charlotte Rose Patterns and added some little bows to it. It’s bright, cute, and brings me lots of joy.
Get back into creative writing
I used to write plays and stories all the time as a kid, but somewhere along the way I stopped. It’s probably because I didn’t want to be a published author, so what was the point? But lately I’ve been listening to a ton of Agatha Christie radio plays, along with Lord Peter Wimsey. I can’t get enough of a murder mystery set between the 1920s and 1960s, and, inspired by the hundreds of hours I’ve spent listening to these radio plays, I’ve started writing my own.
Writing for the sheer joy of it has reignited so much enjoyment. I’m not particularly good at creative writing, but who cares! Because now, whenever I have a spare moment, I slip into my little made-up world. I’d definitely recommend creating your own world as a fun alternative to doom scrolling.
Design a holiday wardrobe
In classic coping-meets-creativity mode, I’ve been designing and sewing an entire capsule wardrobe for my upcoming Canada/New York holiday. I’ve filmed the whole process, so prepare yourself for a deluge of holiday wardrobe content.
Organise my life on Notion
I’ve organised all my sewing patterns and fabrics in Notion, plus created a list of all the Agatha Christie books I own (I’m trying to collect them all — which leads me to the next two projects). Whether it’s meal planning, reading lists, or tracking your hobbies, there’s something so satisfying about organising your life in a tidily arranged system.
Become a collector
Choose something in your life that you enjoy and start collecting! It instantly makes you more interesting. You can introduce yourself as a collector. Imagine the dinner party potential, very chic!
Get into book binding
I haven’t started this one yet, but I’m obsessed with the idea. I want to rebind my $1 paperback Agatha Christies into beautiful hardcovers that mimic the Penguin clothbound classics. A very chic and very nerdy hobby that I can’t wait to try.
Research and write for fun
Basically what I’m doing here on Substack! I love falling into a rabbit hole, reading everything I can, and then sharing what I’ve found. I regret not spending more time in the university library when I was studying, but the public library and open-access journals are doing just fine for now. I’m currently researching the impact of colonialism on Māori ways of dress.
Create a mood board
I’m going on holiday in August, so naturally I’ve been spending a lot of time on Pinterest manifesting the vibe.
Re-organise my wardrobe
Okay so this one might actually be a big project. But I love the idea of shopping my own wardrobe and rediscovering my style with what I already own.
Unfortunately, my wardrobe is a bit of a mess. I’m a sentimental hoarder (I’m still holding onto galaxy leggings from 2012 in case they come back in style). But sometimes the best little project is one that helps you let go of the past to make room for the future.
More little projects for you to try:
Start a slow fashion project that takes actual time like hand-sewing a garment, quilting, or making a coat.
Make a personal style mood board (Pinterest, Canva, a glue stick and a stack of magazines) and see what threads tie your taste together.
Write letters or postcards to your future self, or to your friends, or to the universe.
Host a dinner party.
Bake your way through a cookbook, or even just three ambitious recipes you’ve had bookmarked forever but never actually made.
Learn a low-stakes instrument (ukulele? recorder? keyboard from Facebook Marketplace?) and just play for the joy of it.
Give your house or room a seasonal reset. Clean things, rearrange your furniture, swap your art around, light a candle.
Get into a series of books.
Do a deep dive into a super specific topic. Something like brutalist architecture, extinct birds, vintage Vogue covers, or whatever niche corner of the internet you’ve been meaning to spiral into.
Make playlists to soundtrack your life. Theme them by mood, memory, outfit, person.
Host your friends for your own tiny workshops. Learn something new like beading or pottery, or have a one off book club.
Go for a walk.
None of these projects have changed the reality of my grief. But they’ve helped me live through it. Helping me pass the time with purpose.
So if you’re going through something — anything — I’d definitely recommend starting a little project too.
Thanks so much for sharing 🩷 sending you so much love. I really love all these ideas xx
I really should pull out one of my ufos to finish. Just finishing something seems so hard right now