There are doors that need to be put in, clean up needing to be done in the attic, cleaning throughout the house, the laundry room needs to be demolished, and the bathroom is falling apart. It seemed silly, then, that we took 3 days to put my plants in around the yard, but nothing else in the house was literally going to die if it waited another day or two. It is so hard to set priorities, and to not get distracted by everything around you that needs to be done. There are also those times when you start one simple, relatively quick job that leads to 6 others and ends up taking all day. Those are the times that drive people insane because you look back on your day and ask yourself: "What have I accomplished today?" It is important to look at the little victories, and to take things one job at a time, and if you did something, but it wasn't on your list for the day, then you put it on the list just so you can cross it off and be able to see all that you did.
So, you would think that putting in a new door would be one of those fairly quick jobs. But what do you do when the pre-drilled wholes don't match up with the handles and locks that you have bought. Maybe that's why they sell those doors with the handles and locks already picked to go with them. It is just one of the many things that an inexperienced home buyer doesn't know. Now a quick job has turned into a two day affair, with the possibility of actually ruining the door or the frame. On the other hand, we need to get on to the demo work. The day is ticking by and I still haven't done any of the yard work that I wanted to do today either. I guess it doesn't matter that much as the dump isn't open for another two days, so I have time on that. Trimming is also a nice activity to end the day with. It's peaceful and relaxing, a great way to wind down.
We are only on day 10 of this work, but here is what I've learned so far:
1.) Warm up. Start the day with some easy moving activities. Everything will hurt and will be swollen. Every joint in your body. With every day being a full body, hours long work out it is vital to start with a warm up.
2.) Make sure you are being aware of the time of the day passing to ensure that you are eating throughout the day. It is surprising how quickly time will go by and the next thing you know everyone is grumpy, and you are getting dizzy. That's when you look at the clock and realize it's been 6+ hours since you've last eaten. Not good.
3.) Keep lists. Having lists has saved me on multiple fronts. I have lists of long-term projects, lists of mid-range projects, lists of daily tasks, lists of people that I need to contact, lists of fun things that I want to do before summer is over and life gets REALLY complicated. I do a little from each of the lists every day, and make sure that the things that I am putting on my list of daily things to do always lead to the mid-range goals and the mid-range goals lead to the long-term goals. If this is something that you have struggled with whether it is with remodeling a home, or just in life in general, I would highly recommend looking into David Covey. He wrote some wonderful things on time management. I would most recommend The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
4.) Be Patient. This means with yourself as well as your spouse or any/all family members. Everything will take longer than you plan, plan for it, and be patient with yourself. That doesn't mean that it's not okay to push yourself or others, especially if they are dragging their feet or taking advantage, but it is important to give yourself the chance to be successful, and that includes factoring in time for a learning curve for new skills.
5.) Take Breaks to Have Fun. It is amazing what a difference it makes to take a day to have some fun and relax makes on levels of motivation to keep going. It didn't take me very long before I felt like I was ready for all of this to be over and to be able to return to how life was before, but that just wasn't an option. An evening going to the movies and splurging getting popcorn and soda made the next day back at work on the house that much easier to stomach. It will be even more difficult once I go back to work. I've been on a break up until now, so after this if will be even more crazy. My spouse demands that I stop working at 7pm. Giving me a chance to wind down and relax my mind and body. It seems like if you work longer into the night, but I know from previous experiences that pushing through is not always a good thing, that sometimes you actually get more done if you stop when you are tired, take care of yourself and get a good night's sleep, and start fresh the next morning.
All this being said, I am off to get some sleep and get as much rest as possible to be ready to work more tomorrow.
