I know what I need to do, we all do. Focus.
But too often we find ourselves stringing together long series of tasks, or, one favorite, doing two to three tasks at the same time, all of them badly. I know that do simply get things done that it’s best to focus on one task at a time and I’m way better than when I started this farm experiment, but I still find myself doing this multitask thing and actually accomplishing nothing.
Just yesterday I felt motivated and put a bunch of things in motion: planting fall brassicas, weed the herbs in the front field, set a trellis for the peas, fix the mower, and harvest for the CSA box. How did I do? Well…2 flats of brassicas planted (two trays still sit in the field), herbs 5% weeded, 6 posts sit next to the peas, and the mower is disassembled now awaiting my attention. But, hey, I did get the cherry tomatoes, carrots, and half the beets harvested for the box!
Maybe if a person lights many fires, stuff will get done, but too many days of too many tasks is a recipe for lots of activity but few things off the to-do list. I know. I’ve been doing it for 20+ years. The best of days, however, are ones where I methodically work through the morning to-do list. Check, check, check. Love that feeling at the end of the day.
So, if this resonates with your own work in finance, HR, or education, just know that the struggles are the same here in farming. Here’s to better work plans, and I wish us all a complete to-do list this Monday.
In the box:
- Sweet Corn: Yeh! This is a variety called Allure.
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Beets
- Carrots
- Butterhead Lettuce
- Garlic
- Onions
- A Green and Purple Pepper
Lida Farm 