I am a fan of keeping multiple projects on the go, but this was getting ridiculous! Over a dozen options, all stalled or uninteresting? Something had to go, or change.

In the middle of overwhelm, how do you know whether to continue with a project? Ideas are shiny and bright at the beginning, and for me, completion is also a joy. It’s that middle part that gets sticky. Is there a problem I can solve, or is it just a mess that no longer holds potential?

I recently started yet another project, only to quickly hit the messy bit. I realized, in looking around, that most of my projects were in a similar state. I remember a book about this, the first I’d read by Seth Godin, about this very situation: The Dip. Quitting projects is a key strategy, he says, to getting to the next, better project. Another site I follow, Lichtenbergianism, advocates for the same, abandonment as needed. The other options are trying a variation, or putting it out into the world as is. Well, which is it?

Let’s dig in, with a project I was so excited about, at the outset: all the ways you can divide a square into 5 identically proportioned rectangles. Oooh, math! Hard math, but given my background, appealing. And with my current art glasses on, these look very much like thumbnail sketches for compositions to me — don’t you think? Would any of them be interesting to try as a larger piece?

I started with a couple of variations that looked interesting and found a serious blocking issue: these are REALLY hard to sketch! With all the rectangles having the SAME proportions, this is not a freehand exercise. But, but! This is so tied to my techy, geeky background, I have this lovely handmade watercolor paper to try them on, and wouldn’t these look wonderful on there? I stewed, I realized I didn’t have any other projects that were calling me away, and then, eventually, a realistic way forward emerged.

• How about I only do the variations that appeal to me? For me, that’s anything asymmetric.
• If I open one of these little sketches in a photo app, I can use a ruler to figure out where the divisions are!

Now, we might be getting somewhere! Similar to other longer projects, there needs to be some wiggle room. For my 365 collage project, I sometimes worked on several at once, for example. For this rectangles-in-a-square project, I now have 3 completed, below, 3 more sketched out, a whole pack of empty squares still to fill, and a goal of showing them in May. Doable, and exciting again. Suddenly, the other projects seem more inviting too… Stay tuned for viewing opportunities!