It’s a funny old thing how, no matter how many things one gets done around the house/property and no matter how happy-making they are, there are always – and I mean always – other things that need doing. Somehow the to-do list seems to magically grow faster than things can get crossed off it.
This can be overwhelming, to put it mildly, and I’ve seen many people admit defeat and give up. The list wins and becomes the we-won’t-get-to-it list rather than the to-do list.
Recently I reviewed a bunch of stalled-out projects, ones that have either trailed off or somehow haven’t even gotten off the ground. The sheer volume felt a bit depressing, to be honest. I was chatting to DaughterDearest about this last week and she agreed: so much to do, so little time, so much competition for resources. However, she and K have devised a most cunning life hack to help to solve this dilemma.
They each listed every task they could think of – big and small – that needed doing on their property. These ranged from costly tasks, such as installing more water tanks, to time-consuming ones, such contacting the local council to resolve various issues. Then they combined the lists, removed the duplications, and independently ranked each task on their personal perception of its importance (on a scale of 1 to 5).
At the end of this, they conferred and negotiated, then created a master task-list from which to work. No more items will go onto this list for the next 12 months, she said, after which they’ll review and reprioritise. Work has commenced and they’ve already crossed things off their list 🙂
Whilst I applauded the idea – and the progress they’ve made so far – I was feeling listed-out and somehow didn’t see it working for us. Even so, I mentioned it in passing to Himself and – much to my surprise – he thought it was a splendid idea! It’s logical, will clarify what needs doing when, and should provide a workable roadmap, he said.
So over the weekend we listed, compiled, agreed on no more items, prioritised, negotiated – and now have our very own master list. It’s been printed out on an A3 sheet and is up on the whiteboard where we’ll both see it every day: 98 items in total (several of which are sub-tasks of others).
It is a long list and might seem daunting – but it feels good to have sat down together and worked out a plan. We have 12 months in which to conquer as many of the items as possible. Progress is already underway and we’re both keen to move maintain the momentum. Roll on next September and review-time 🙂
Congrats 🙂 I shall have to check out the list when I’m over next. We crossed off another item from our list on the weekend (cuttings for some fodder trees & shrubs, now planted and hopefully growing roots, ready to go into the ground next winter)
Thanks, DD – and well done you. This weekend we crossed three off the list: moving the raised garden bed (so that the puppy doesn’t use it as a launch pad to get over the front wall!), getting/making new couch covers (dog protection) and planting spring seedlings: tomatoes, beans, basil, lettuce, spinach and (on the verge) pumpkin. Fourth thing started, with four of 12 concrete sprinkler surrounds bought and painted bright orange. We’re both feeling pretty good about crossing things off this soon 🙂