Time Management


When I decided to really retire, that is, leave federal service and not take a job with a contractor many people said,”What are you going to do?” They seemed to think that without work life would be dull. I’m happy to report there is no lack of things to do. The biggest problem is my body allowing me to do them.


I currently have 3 major tasks on my plate.


One is the crib – I’m ready to start cutting wood on this one after much preparation.. I actually made some practice cuts today to check that my saw is square. I also cleaned and sharpened my hand planes – one of which I got from my Dad - and did a little practice planing to determine that they worked OK. I can remember playing with my Dad’s plane in the garage when we lived in Connecticut.


The second task is installing a sprinkler system in the yard. This task includes major time investment because it involves clearing out 30 years of yard mismanagement. I need to clear out and throw away all the crap I have stashed here and there so I can dig trenches for the sprinkler piping. I also want to set up this years garden and have an irrigation line to it. (Christy suggested I grow okra, squash and of course, lots of herbs.) The biggest part of the task is the front yard. We are ripping out any existing grass and going to resod the front. Right now we have a full truck-load of sand sitting in our front yard and multi-colored flags and spray paint lines marking the locations of phone lines, water lines and gas lines.. We went by a couple of irrigation places today and are getting estimates for the parts we need. I’ve only got a month to finish the front yard or I have to get an extension from the “call before you dig” folks..


Task number 3 is physical fittness. So far the shoulders ar holding out. It is an amazing feeling to be able to lift a jug of milk or even throw a trash bag into the trash can or shake out a rug without pain. I have to make sure I keep the shoulders strong. My back is easing some so I also need to keep it getting better. Fittness stuff including walking, cold and hot soaks can easilly take 2 hours each day.


I haven’t even gotten into the recreational activities like beachwalks, kayaking and photography. Of course there is some travel mixed in here, too. Jacksonville at least twice in the next month and Texas to see DeDe. I can’t leave Penny out of the mix. We need our time togeter, too. The recreational stuff we do together. There also is a lot of time devoted to shopping that we do together and some TV watching. I will probably blog less.

I’m actually beginning to feel there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done in time. I’m hoping once I actually get into these tasks I can accomplish a lot each day. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. I hear the dinner bell ringing.