The Rule Of Three

I have a million things I want to knit up, and I have more than enough yarn to do some of them. As I found my stash and dream-projects piling up in a new and frightening way, I decided to institute the Rule of Three in an attempt to keep me and those around me sane. As an attempt to be useful instead of just irritating, I'd like to share this infinitely useful rule o' thumb:

THE RULE OF THREE

~There will be no more than 3 projects on the needles at any time.

~The three projects will be different objects (ie: no more than one pair of socks in progress).

~A project is not "off the needles" until it's bound off, woven in, and completely finished.

It's not that I cannot be monogamous to one project; I just don't want to be. On the other hand, working on the same project eat holes in your brain. And, to be quite honest, not all projects can go everywhere. For example, I found out quickly that if I try to work on my sweater with my long size 6's on a crowded bus, I will promptly poke out someone's eye. This would not only hurt a fellow commuter, but might get eye juice on my sweater. Eww! So, the sweater stays home.

Here's how I like to break it down:

Long Term Project (LTP): This is going to take me a while, but I always have something to work on.
Current LTP: Chocolate Mariah

Go-Anywhere Project (GAP): Pretty self-explanatory. It fits in my bag and goes everywhere. This is usually a sock, but it can be anything small and relatively mindless.
Current GAP: Birthday Noro Hat

Looming Deadline Project (LDP): Birthday/holiday/special event coming up? Project, this is the spot for you! This project is usually a little more involved, but not a LTP.
Current LDP: Dad's B-Day Socks, due March 20 so they'll get there by the 23rd.

I'm only human so of course there are loopholes:

Loophole 1: Emergency Projects
If I need to knit something, I can temporarily retire another project until the emergency project is done.

Loophole 2: Hover Projects
If I start a project out of desperation (no GAP available before going to the movies), I can start a project I have no intention of adding to the regular rotation. There can only be one of these hovering projects at a time, hopefully ensuring that I finish the little pink hat.

Loophole 3: Grandfathered Projects
I have a few things that I have been working on for, well, years now. I finished most of them up when I hauled off and created the perfect storm of knitting, but there's one left over: The blue afghan in the closet that I started over a year ago, but stopped working on because I lost the pattern when we moved. This may or may not become my LTP once I finish up the Chocolate Mariah, we'll have to see. I don't think it should count; it's crochet...

Loophole 4: Screw It!!!
This is supposed to be fun. If I wanna knit it, screw it, I'm gonna.

And that, my loyal (okay, non-existent) readers, is the almighty Rule Of Three. It sounds more confusing than it actually is and, so far, has worked out famously for me. Use/modify/ignore it in good health!