Wednesday, August 14, 2013

A Little More Time, Please

Today, I am home cleaning up  my mess. The mess is a dirty house, projects left incomplete or not even started. A garage full of stuff that needs sorting and removal. Dying plants, growing plants and weeds. So much to do in this never ending "work in progress".

Today, I finishing winding on the warp for a gift that was intended for xmas 2012. I still have to thread the heddles and test the warp before actually weaving anything, but just getting this far has been a near miracle. I am also testing marshmallow recipes for my xmas 2013 presents.

As I work through the "list", I give myself time to reflect and appreciate the amount of work that is being done. Otherwise, I could just beat myself that it never gets finished. There is always too much on the list. The list gets more stuff before the old stuff gets done. So how does one go about getting "done" at the end of the day?

This is what I do. I know the list is "forever long". So is have insignificant things that must get done (like shower and dress, or take out the trash). And I have significant things that must be done (like paying the bills, finishing the patio plans, or getting new tires). There are important things, (like getting groceries for dinner, checking on family, and making sure we have clean underwear). Then there are the MASSIVE things, (like selling a car, painting the house, or planning a trip). Of course there are always the GARGANTUAN things, (like assisting my father in his final days, cleaning out my mother's 84 years of "collecting", and starting the room addition).

The list has some things (gargantuan things) that have been on the list for many years and get a little bit of attention at a time until they are actually done. Some of them I want to hurry along and others I want to slow down, but they all get to the end in time. Massive things seem to take months or large blocks of hours. Sometimes research. Most of my list is full of the regular high and low priority things.  I have determined that getting a dozen things done per day is really quite an accomplishment. I give myself an A+ for a day where 12 things on the list get done, even if they are rather small things. That is a pretty full day.

4 or 5 things per day is really slacking. It is mostly a goof-off day. I can even get that much done when I am sick. It would be like- shower, dress, do a load of laundry, make dinner, empty dishwasher. This is a pretty light load and didn't have anything very significant in it. But if it had "Finish the taxes, or repair the plumbing" it might be a bit more work and worthy of praise.

For the last three years, I have been getting lots of little things done during the day and only a few of the bigger things done. I realize that I am going to have to get some significant amounts of extra time in order to get some of those big things done. So what I am suggesting her is that we extend the Fall/Winter time frame for about 4 months. I tend to get more done in the Fall and Winter. The cooler weather makes me hustle about but warm weather makes me drowsy and sluggish. If I had a longer Winter, I could possibly get caught up on some of the bigger things. People would not be coming over as much. I would not be traveling as much. The garden and yard would not need so much work.

Definitely, I need a second Winter this year. I know that some of you will complain about the cold and snow and heating bills. There are always those who don't benefit from a new plan. I feel that after I get a little bit more caught up, I could then loan you some extra Summer for your list. I am sure, with some consideration for each other, we can work something out. But right now, I have to get back to the list. Today, I have made a little bit of progress, but not enough to get any special points. Today is about a 6 (C).

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Well, more winter would mean more time to knit and wear woolens. That's a good thing. And I'd get more outside work done, because I tend to avoid working during the heat. It could work.