October 7, 2011

It Will Get Done... Maybe

Ask my wife and she will tell you that there are projects to be done all over the house.  I take that back, there are projects that are half done all over the house.  I am one of those people that gets on a roll at times and will do a million things at once.  That can be good if I ever finished anything.  There are spots that need to be painted all over our house, they're not big ones but just enough for you to notice them on a daily basis.  I guess if an entire wall needed to be painted I would do it, I mean seriously who wants to drag out all of the painting supplies for a little spot?  And then we would have to do that for about five different colors.  That's a lot of work.

I built a fire pit!
I will tackle some big projects like redoing the decking on our back porch, but it is going to take me a while as I am also going to fix a pump to the toilet in our basement, reseal the driveway, and fix the ceiling in our kitchen.  I can never just do one thing at a time, it's why nothing ever gets done, and we will always live in a house that is going to look like it was just moved into.

We've been in our current house seven years.

I have been meaning to repaint the kitchen for some time.  I am just not a fan of the color that the previous owners used.  The problem is, it's livable.  Who wants to do a project when you can certainly live with what is already there.  It really takes me a while to get going, usually it's my wife telling me that she wants something done by a certain time and amazingly enough, that little bit of pressure, gets me going.

I need to fix the ceiling and walls
Since becoming a stay at home dad, it's been difficult to prioritize.  I have always been the type of person that does a kick ass job when I am told to do something.  I was very good at my old job in TV, I never won any awards but I didn't care about those.  I just wanted to be the person that everyone knew would get the job done, and get it done well.

But now I struggle.

I am the one making my decisions for me.  I am now the boss and the employee.  There is nobody telling me to get something done and I will be honest with you it's been hard.  I have never had the mentality of telling people what to do, especially myself.  Sure I can get in the shower, something I haven't done in a couple of days mind you, and tie my own shoes, but when it comes to my actual job, I fail.

Add this to the list in the winter
I have not been living up to my own standards and have not been doing my job to the best of my abilities.  That is going to change as of today.  No more half done projects, no more half assed projects, anything that isn't done, will get done.  Of course, I have to clean the house, do the laundry, mow the lawn, clean the garage, trim the hedges, do more laundry, cook dinner, do the grocery shopping, fold the laundry, bake cookies, and research insane asylums.

I'll get to it.

Just as soon as I take a shower.

Dammit, nothing is ever going to get done around here.


John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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7 comments:

  1. I've been involved in a concept called Active Standard Lowering (ASL) ever since my wife and I moved into our house. For the last ten years, I've stared projects in the face and walked away by changing my mindset and moving on. Nail pops all over our ceiling--who's really gonna say anything about that? Blacktop starting to dip? It's OK. My standards for a lot of aesthetic projects have relaxed and settled...and really--it's OK. Through Active Standard Lowering, I've freed up all sorts of time for things that matter, like reminding my daughter that it shouldn't take 30 minutes to brush her teeth and get to bed on school nights, and teaching my son about Fantasy Football. ASL. Try it.

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  2. I like it! Although I think my wife would would not let me get away with that. She might come up with a concept called YAGBTW. You Are GoingBack To Work.

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  3. My husband tells me yagbtw but I keep resisting! Nice job on the firepit - we have a similar one but can't take credit for it as it was here when we got here...I find I get more done when someone gives me a deadline - preferably not the spouse though..
    Just do yourself a favor and get it done before you go to sell - we waited in our last house and made it so much more livable it was harder to leave.

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  4. We did that with our firts house... as soon as we decided to sell, we kept it clean and got some projects done then looked at the place and thought "This ain't so bad."

    I swear though that I am going to start tackling some of these projects. Since I am the stay at home parent I guess it's my own "Honey Do" list. Or a "List I will get to right after the ball game is over"

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  5. I know what you mean. It's very easy to start something and get pulled away by something else before you can finish. The interesting part is how that first task somehow gets completely erased from your memory, until you find some spackle in the garage and wonder what it's doing there.

    JJ – The Dude
    dudeofthehouse.blogspot.com
    http://www.facebook.com/TheDudeOfTheHouse
    Twitter: @DudeOfTheHouse

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  6. That's what the spackle is for! Thanks for reminding me, o gotta patch that hole in the wall on the stairs.

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  7. Oh projects. I have decided I'll have a nice yard when I'm 60. As long as he's playing t-ball with the kids instead of mowing, I'm ok with that.

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