It’s hard not to be a klutz. In fact, klutziness comes natural for most of us. But it’s the sort of thing you want to leave behind when entering a workshop or maker-space.

Apparently, klutziness can be banished to the sidelines. I once saw a video of the building of a watch—a very fancy watch—being assembled by hand—a very steady hand—and it was astonishing. In the video perfection appears possible.

One of the reasons for spending as much time as I do over the winter months building RC sailboats (schooner Annie, cutter Flyer) from scratch is to practice de-klutzifying. To that end I’ve set myself a number of tips or rules that, if followed, should make the job more enjoyable and more productive and bring the finished product a bit closer to the ideal. In theory, klutz reduction should also carry over to other walks of life.

Here are some of the tips:

Have lots of clamps, too many is not enough,
Mise tools en place,
Immediately put tools away—back in their proper places,
Wear supportive shoes,
Avoid stepping on shoelaces,
Wear appropriate clothing, but plan on being too hot anyway,
Have nothing under foot,
Keep the walkway clear,
Don’t knock stuff over,
Vacuum the workplace once in a while,
Don’t bang into things,
Practice being un-clumsy,
Keep things within reach,
Avoid dripping sweat on the work,
Find comfortable and effective ways to hold things,
If physical contortion is required, re-position the workpiece,
Have more light than would seem possible,
Have no urgent bathroom needs,
Find and use a logical order of processes,
Don’t just barge ahead willy-nilly hoping for the best. Try to think about what can go wrong so you’re ready when it does,
Take your time. Be willing to take lots of time. Whatever you’re doing is going to take much longer than it should,
Plan ahead. Plan at least three trips to the hardware store,
Plan on doing everything twice.