Oh yes. I call this the "while I was trying to fix this it caused a bomb to go off over there". One must sometimes create other messes while cleaning up an area. It will all get sorted out eventually. And frankly, if I didn't have a never-ending list of garden projects, I might lose my will altogether. I need the "next project" to keep me going through the one I'm in.

I don't sleep at night. I dream up new projects. I am so glad it isn't just me, but it would be nice to do a project without the 'bombs'.

I can relate..it's a domino effect..once I read it always looks worse before it looks better..that bothers my husband..but to me it's progress to get started..bare dirt where I removed something looks beautiful to me..

Sometimes I rob from one garden to start a new garden, then I need to fix the first garden.

Oh well, it is what I do for fun!

Sometimes I think that the cars that drive by have people in them that feel sorry for me but I remember envying people with gardens and I smile gratefully.

Yes, it happens with me too, no matter what I'm working on. It's not just garden work. All battle plans fall apart once one meets the enemy. But making those plans is still necessary.

I plan on doing a project (call it A) that looks like it should take oh maybe about 3-4 hours. But when I start it I find that I must do something else that looks like it will take 2 hours (B), but it ends up taking the rest of the day. As I'm doing B, something else turns up that has to be done for B to get completed, which is still necessary for A. That project (C) looks like it's going to take maybe 1 hour (haha). It takes longer. Eventually I lose track of how long things take and just enjoy the journey.

Finishing the original project A ends up taking a week. I take lots of breaks to help with the frustration resulting from all the unexpected necessaries. One virtue of the quarantine is that I no longer have deadlines. I've got all season to get things done. So no rush, no frustration, no stress. Work a little, take a break. So far I've gotten more done in the garden than I've ever gotten done by the end of March, so I'm ahead.

I'm seeing Dory saying to herself "Just keep swimming."

yes..logistics is always the base problem ...

or as they say in war .. something to the effect that all great plans fail once you meet the enemy ....

here is the actual quote: https://bootcampmilitaryfitnessinstitute.com/military-and-outdoor-fitness-articles/no-plan-survives-contact-with-the-enemy/

anyway ... i found one around it ... just declare that one small daily section .. maybe 10 by 10 feet ... will get done .. completely .... before you move on to something else ... i usually suggest the bed around the deck or porch.. so when you sit down with an adult beverage at dusk.. you can revel in a small success ... while planning tomorrows small success ... and by the end of a month or so ... you wont believe what you got done ...

so even by the end of the season ... though there might be another acre of the ultimate goal.. project ... at least something is done ... the light at the end of the tunnel is a little brighter ... JUST FOCUS ON THE LIGHT ...

also .. keep in mind.. what you planned really isnt .. or shouldnt have been a do-it-all-in-one-season plan ... and if it was.. that was your base problem ... because... NOTHING IS EVER DONE.. IN THE GARDEN ...

WHEN ARE WE GOING TO SEE PIX ...????.. you apparently already missed the BEFORE window ... eh???

ken

Yep, very familiar. I could get sidetracked just doing routine chores, not "projects."

ken..NOTHING IS EVER DONE.. IN THE GARDEN..I resisted this mindset for years..but it's true..

Oh my that is how all my projects go and sometimes they don't even get done the way I planned because of time and temperature constraints. Yesterday I FINALLY got the 6 huge chunks of Gold Standard planted that I had dug up four days ago just before we got unpredicted rain. Then heavy frost for three nights. I transferred them to my wheelbarrow yesterday morning and that's when hubby decided he needed the wheelbarrow. Then he wanted my trowel! (Hint - he doesn't garden or even recognize gardening as a real activity.) So I went and dumped the chunks on the ground and basically dug a hole and dropped them in. No fancy mixing or laying out, but at least they are in the ground. I don't know when or if I will ever get any bark mulch for this fenceline garden and I have to keep digging the grass out of it and now tree seeds are coming up everywhere!

Happy belated birthday!

bk

I just stumbled upon this scholarly explanation of why projects take so much longer than we expect. It's quite interesting. https://fs.blog/2020/04/conjunctive-events-bias/

that article is interesting..to me this sentence sums up why projects are so difficult.."each individual step has some probability of failure"..true and a bit gloomy!..but we're optimistic and hard working and everyone here attempts to create beautiful gardens when so many people make no effort..

"completing a sequence of tasks requires a great deal of cooperation from multiple events" This line is perfect--my multiple events aren't cooperating. Although my husband puts the blame on my thinking up new things to go along with the original project.

This is why I laugh when I hear someone say that you must first have a written plan. For some people that may work but, for us "project people", it would take all the fun out of gardening. To each his own.