How do I get this:
Back to looking like this:
Every year I think I can’t possibly do it again; that this year I will have to hire someone to help. Somehow, so far, every year I get there, all by myself. It’s a huge job. I have large deep beds all around my backyard, all of which need to be worked. The annual beds need digging and the perennial beds need be hacked back. Plants need to be dug, divided and rearranged. A pallet load of mulch needs to be spread. I get exhausted just thinking about it. So far I’ve gotten exactly one bit done.
This (bed all cleaned up and ready to grow):
Will hopefully look like this again soon:
That’s not much. I spent about three hours out there Saturday and, thanks to badly spraining my ankle six weeks ago, I didn’t get very far. I did get a bit more than this one little round bed done but not much. I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed, as I always do this time of year.
How do I get this done? Just like any big job, the only way I can complete the task is to break it down in very small pieces. In this case, I set myself a certain amount of time to be out there every day, usually from one to three hours. I start at one end of a bed, keep my head down and start digging, or weeding or mulching. I never fail to be amazed at how much I can get done in that couple of hours. It’s never easy to keep myself from looking along the row and seeing how much there is to be done but that’s an important part of the process. If I look, I’m sunk. It’s back to being a huge job that I can’t possibly complete.
Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. Whether it’s gardening, house cleaning, debt repayment or job hunting, don’t let the enormity of the task overwhelm you, just start. One small step and you’re on your way! Me? I'm heading back outside!
What seemingly insurmountable tasks are facing you right now? Have you formed your plan of attack?
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