Avoiding Second Sock Syndrome

How do you avoid Second Sock Syndrome (SSS), where once the first sock is done the second sock never gets knit? Because who wants to do the same project twice?

I have learned that I can not be depended upon to ever knit a second sock once the first one is finished, so I have strict rules for myself.

1) Divide all 100g skeins of sockyarn into two balls.

2) Have the second sock on the needles before the cuff of the first sock is half done. (I use two sets of 24" circulars.)

3) When picking up a sock to knit, pick up the shortest one.

4) Never knit the foot until both socks have complete gusset decreases. Gusset decreases are my least favorite part of the sock.

5) Do not Kitchener off the toe until both socks are ready to Kitchener.

The last time I got lazy about rewinding the yarn into two balls was two years ago. I knit a beautiful Conwy from Knitting on the Road, admired it often, but never started the second one.

For almost two years every time I started a new pair of socks I had that guilty feeling I should be knitting a second Conwy instead.

Finally, when the Six Sock Knitalong did the Making Waves pattern, the Conwy yarn was perfect for the Waves pattern. I admitted there was never going to be a second Conwy. The lonely Conwy got frogged and the yarn turned into a pretty pair of Making Waves.

What Are the Pins For?
The plastic pins in the pictures are how I keep track of the row count. For Opal yarn knit on Addi Turbo #1s, my size 6 feet need 60 rows between the gusset pickup and the start of the toe decrease. I slip in a pin marker at 20, 40, and 50 rows. Sure makes the counting easy.

Rules are Made to Be Broken
The blue Old Shale Two Yarn sock currently on the needles is the first adult size sock I have ever knit with the intention of sharing the pattern. I took notes while knitting up the first sock. Then I wrote up the notes into a pattern and I'm test knitting the pattern with the second sock.

So, I'm breaking my rules in order to test knit the pattern. There is no SSS because I'm trying to get the socks done in time to give them as a Christmas gift. Don't want to count on that for future pairs, though. I need a better SSS avoidance plan for pattern writing.