How do u get used to Not getting things done

unless it is something that really really has to get done..don't get too concerned and certainly don't allow yourself to get dramatilc about it..it will only make matters worse

We are now located halfway between Switzer and Stamping Ground on the Scott/Franklin County line. I hope this is the final move; it looks as though it is.

Never heard of the saying, Work always Waits. I have come to realize that theres a kind of merry go round, that one jumps on if theyre going to do gardening/farming in season. If one dosent start at the right time, ive about realized that theres no use in trying to fight it anyhow and keep plugging away outa season. Anymore, I jump on in late winter, getting money and equipment ready for springtime. Then when its time to plant, hopefully, ive got the money, gas, equipment ready, fertilizer, ect ready for spring. Then, if im lucky and all has held together, then im into ciltivating, cultivating, cultivating, until Ive got the corn laid by. IF ive made it that far in season, then im on the downhill side of things, but it gets a slight less work. By fall IF ive held all together this far, then im ready to slow down a bit and start cutting wood ect.

I learned a long time ago not to concern myself with those things that I cannot control. It is hard to not worry when there is a drought or when a storm is threatening but if you will stop and think it through you can see that the worry is futile. I have found that the internet is good for getting parts without wasting time running from dealer to dealer. I do have most of the parts books for the machinery. I do keep spare parts for items known to fail unexpectedly such a fuel filters, some hydraulic hose and replacement oil. I have an assortment of bolts, nuts, welding rod, tire patches, etc on hand. I have good weather tasks and I have foul weather tasks. During foul weather I am mostly maintaining equipment that I will use during good weather. By anticipating the work to be done, I manage to have the seed or equipment ready when the window of opportunity does arise. This is probably the most beneficial time saving practice one can do. As a farmer, I try to approach the situation with the idea that whatever the weather is "it is good on some things and bad on others".

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

To be honest, i DON'T get used to things not getting done. It is a constant source of frustration and angst.

That being said...that's how I deal with it, too.
There will ALWAYS be too much to do, it will ALWAYS be a source of frustration and angst, no matter how hard i try to keep ahead of it.

So i have a choice. I have the option of living every moment of my life frustrated and worried and with plenty of good excuses to do so.

Or I can face up to the fact that I have chosen this life. This is exactly what I want.
I mean... I could have chosen to live in a townhouse and be a stamp collector and I could have chosen to be frustrated doing that, too.

It's all choices..the homesteading, the stamp collecting and the frustration. All of it.
When I remind myself that the frustration is also of my choosing, it helps me to laugh at myself.
The stamp collector and I are both going to be the exact same kind of dead someday and nobody will really care one whit whether either of us chose to be content or frustrated with our time.

So there i have it. I have a great life and i am living my dream and i am frustrated a lot. I'm not too keen on the frustration part, so I'll laugh at it.

K, so back to work. Today, I'll work on the motorcycle carbs, finish the bicycle trailer, put another cover on the chicken tractor, but straw bedding down for the pigs, cows, goats and sheep, fire the pizza oven, move the tiles, change the oil in my car, repost the tractor on Craigslist, get pallets for the stage, move the airconditioner out to the shed, level the trailer, post the oil drums for sale, wash the windows, biuld a compost bin, bushhog the field and hang the onions inside.
Yes, that's what's on my list and yes I'll be frustrated if it doesn't all get done. Tee hee hee. I must like being frustrated.
K, enough typing, i really do need to get to work.

I have come to realize that there will always be work but life is short. When setting your priorities don't forget to enjoy life. Somethings CAN wait. Other work sometimes needs to be completed NOW. Balance is key.

Just like today, I intended to get my grandpas tractor put back together. DIDNT HAPPEN. What I did get done was get 4 sections of new stovepipe out up on the stove, and got my motorcycle put together. The reason I didnt get the tractor put together. Im afraid to put it together without knowing that what Im doing is the right thing to do. Ive been on yt forums all day trying to get info about the clutch mech so as to be sure ive got it right before I put it together. And getting infor from there is alful SLOW.

If you are the third generation from a ranching family, you tend to grow up thinking "never getting done" is normal! You do prioritize without actually realizing it ... planting grain and garden in the spring, haying in the summer so the livestock will have feed in the winter, feeding in the winter.

And it's also a fact of farm/ranch life that something more critical will happen in the middle of a "critical" job ... haying machinery breaks down, well pump goes out, cattle get into the grain field, stallion gets in with the mares!

The "in between stuff" gets done as it becomes critical ... and if you have livestock, you never catch up on the fencing. If you ever have half a day without anything that has become critical, there is always fencing.

In Montana, we "saved" as many inside jobs as possible ... you had to get out and feed and chop ice for livestock ... but unless something went critically wrong, there wasn't a lot you could do outside during the winter months. Lots of shop jobs got stockpiled until winter, machinery that hadn't quite broken down but needed parts replaced, new equipment that needed built. Winter was also when my mother and grandmother made quilts, braided rugs, embroidered pillowcases and dishtowels (for daughters of friends that would probably be getting married in the spring).

I've changed "programs" a little here in Kentucky ... I'm more often unable to do things in mid-summer when I simply can not be outside working in the heat and humidity. Summers, here, are hectic because it is o

I'm much better in the winter here, so one thing I've done is get as much "under roof" as possible, so I can do a lot of the livestock work even if it is raining ... big barn to work horses in and shelter for the rabbits. I still don't find it as convenient, after 50 years "up north" my habits are pretty well established, but still seem to manage except for the garden. I've pretty much had to give that up.

As an old farmer use to tell me, you go with the flow. There is always something that needs to be fixed and something you need to use to fix that problem that doesn't work or you don't have. He died about 8 years ago at 93and I miss him and his words of wisdom. But I go with the flow, I fix what HAS to be done and know the rest will be there tomorrow or the next day. Just an old famers wisdom. Go with the flow and don't worry about the small stuff. It happens to all of us.

My mother-in-law told me once life is designed so it isn't possible to get everything done each day! She was right so you choose the priorities. With us that revolves around the weather because we grow our food and what the animals eat. When weather is bad time is used to fix things that are broken.When weather is good we work in the garden and fields.
House work gets done whenever and meals are a priority. I had to wait twenty years for kitchen cupboards to be built by my husband and before we had hot running water! Care of animals is always a priority.

So to enjoy your life you have got to learn to do what needs to be done and not worry about other things. Just do what you can when you are able and can afford to. If your a person who feels driven to try to get all things done when it isn't possible you will burn out eventually.

Take time for family and to enjoy the sunsets and nature and you will be happy.

Yes Bill it does and you know what, I figure unless the creek is rising and threatening the homestead, whatever it is will wait until I can get around to it.

Hasn't failed me yet, trust me on this - there are no "work gnomes or fairies" that will show and do the work for ya. It will be there when you get the time and weather conditions to get it done.

I'm alone and have two farms to manage plus two rental houses for my mom, there are many things I cannot get done when I want to because I work full time (thank you Jesus I have a job!), but I learned to LET IT GO. The work will be there when I can do it.

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