wall of text below  so tldr find the right organization  attitude towards projects and tools  and use communities    edit also understand _how_ something works makes it much easier to remember if you pick it back up than if you tried to learn steps by heart or blindly follow directions    i grew up in a very crafty environment my mom is a crafts teacher with very probable adhd my dad is close to or on the autism spectrum and loves to tinker and fix things i got into reenactment at 14 and started going to crafts circles i dont get a tenth done of what i imagine plan  but thats okay  still decent output for working full time i think  what helps me   -having a variety of tools at hand that are multitaskers also when in doubt choose the smallerless fancy option    -trusting my own resourcefulness if i mess up or dont have the tools  i can usually come up with an unelegant hotfix aint stupid if it works     -having a bit of a stash in standard materials i always have mockup fabric q few different kinds of threads in variety of colours a box of buttons etc often looking through curbs that impulse to buy new stuff  and its helpful to get your projects down smoothly    -have duplicates of universal tools youll probably lose i think i have four 25 sets of dpns and five measuring tapes plus a million scissors also many pencils  not worth the hassle of dropping your project to root for it keep only one of specialized tools though and group them per craft     -find your best organization levels for different intensity of use yes a rainbow yarn drawer is pretty  but for me digging through it works fine unless overstuffed    -dont spend tons of time rooting for tools if youre unsure but have a range of options craft forums will usually delight in telling you what they like in model x and y also a good way to meet new people to motivate you unless youre like me and challenges dont do a thing for you    -take your time to analyze and take notes sucks but helps a ton  the proper way would be a craft journal but if youre more likely to use your phone  use your phone look up previous notes if youve done a similar project before     -dont burn yourself out on a project or a craft for me this means avoiding deadlines altogether but you may be different  if you dont burn it you will probably cycle back to this hobby and then you already have some steps down i think im on my sixth attempt at learning tin whistle and it does get easier every time    -just dont ditch it because something doesnt work issues that dont get fixed by sleeping on it usually warrant a question on a forum  we dont bite  and ive seen plenty of people who are really good at their specific niche ask stuff somebody usually has an answer and you still made it yourself  its not different to doing research in books  just more interactive    -keep stuff for one project in one box separate out tools keep the box and the toolbox that goes with it together while you work  if you finish or it hibernates back they go it is ok to just shove it all in the bin screw wrinkles irons exist  put a rubber band over dpns if you put down your work if you take a tool out of its place because youre attaching it to sth  put a note in the spot it belongs this is hard though  i forget sometimes  -buy your tools and possibly materials second hand    -i try to limit expenses for a new hobby to 50€ for the first few months then its a bit easier to gauge how much i should actually invest