Sharing the Simple Gifts of Faith, Family and Farm

Little Tomatoes

Do the hard stuff first. This is advice that I have heard in a number of venues. The idea is really to focus your efforts on getting more done. As I reflect on that advice, like many, I wonder what the easy stuff is. It seems like everything that I do is hard stuff. Wonder why that is?

Thomas, our 22 year old son and I were about halfway through a particularly tough slog in the field processing chickens on an especially hot June weekend.  Please understand that I am not Joel Salatin (not yet) and we were going for about 15 minutes per bird.  We had a couple more hours of work, and had been steady for hours. Trying to encourage him, I said that we chose to do the work that was not easy, precisely because it was not easy. Many folks want the easy stuff – and are looking to let someone else do the hard stuff.

Sometimes consultant types will phrase it as putting the big rocks into the jar first, so you can fit more of the little rocks and sand in.  Big rocks can be hard projects, family, or things that are important, while sand and small rocks are the daily headaches, or people who take too much time.  Whatever the analogy, the idea is the same, and applies to tomatoes as well.

Put the big ones in first (special request for green ones)

And then fill them in with the little ones.  And wow, are those little ones sweet, and absolutely more fun than listening to management types exhorting you to add more rocks to your jar!

 

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