SusieQOH, last year was my first time making the mystery along with everyone else. It helped me to at least get all the pieces cut and put in the project box when each clue came out. Cutting is not my favorite thing to do, so I'm a thousand times more likely to pick it up and sew as I get the time if the pieces are already cut and waiting. I was able to finish some clues quickly, before the next clue was released. Sometimes I didn't get the time to sew more than a handful of units between clues. I have to steal sewing time in bits and pieces around everything else and this helped me feel somewhat productive even when I didn't have many completed units to show for it.