[Farm Stress] 3 Tips to Getting More Things Accomplished

Farming means constantly attending to problems, putting out fires, and playing catch up. This makes progress towards goals difficult because time always runs out. This week we are talking about the things that move the needle towards our goals.

First, start with the end in mind, what do you want to get accomplished? Then, what are the daily steps that you need to take to reach your goal? This week's video discusses how to get more things done, the things that are important in moving the needle, the things that get us toward our goals. We tend to rush through the day but when night falls we have nothing to show for it.

For example, on your farm, you are trying to put up a new pasture. You can't do everything in one day, and you don't have an entire weekend to devote to it. You could commit to putting up a few posts per day, or one section of fencing per day. This makes us feel like we are getting something accomplished even if we can't do it all at once.

Here are a few steps to make it happen:

1. Put the chores on autopilot- automatically do them first thing. These can be things like feeding and watering, household cleaning, laundry, doctoring calves, cleaning stalls, etc.

2. Set aside a little time for something that moves the needle every day. These are the daily steps that get you closer to your goal.

3. Reward yourself along the way. When we get something accomplished give yourself a little pat on the back. This trains our brains to seek out opportunities to get things accomplished. When we set our minds to something we subconsciously search for ways to make it happen. When we reward ourselves for doing so, it reinforces this "getting things done" mentality for next time.

Getting important things done helps us move the needle towards our goals but if we are always playing catch up then we will never get there. Set yourself up for success, make time for the important things.