September 18, 2019 • 20 mins
When is the “simple life” not always simple? For those of you transitioning into the homestead lifestyle, it’s pretty much all the time. From barn construction to dairy goats to him baked bread and so much more, it’s a never ending cycle of building and improving. How do I know? I’ve been there. Even with all the homesteading experience Christian and I now have, we still find ourselves overwhelmed at times. Today I’m going to demystify the process of starting a homestead and provide every tip and trick you need to take action today.
Some highlights from the episode:
- Why a planner can cure all anxiety
- How to prioritize your action items
- Why action always cures fear
- Comparison derails progress
If you're ready to begin this homesteading journey, head to http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/grow to access my full library of resources to guide you down the path.
OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR YOUR HOMESTEAD:
- Sign up for weekly musings from my homestead: http://theprairiehomestead.com/letter
- Get my free homesteading tutorials & recipes here: www.theprairiehomestead.com
- Jill on Instagram: @jill.winger
- Jill on Facebook: http://facebook.com/theprairiehomestead
- Apply to be a guest on the Old-Fashioned on Purpose podcast: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/podcast-guest-application
Did you enjoy listening to this episode? Please drop a comment below or leave a review to let us know. This can help other folks learn about this podcast and we also really appreciate the feedback!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the old fashioned on purpose podcast.
Expansive Vegetable Gardens,flocks of chickens, barn
construction, milk goats,home-baked bread.
Sounds like just the normal todo list for the average modern
person in 2019 right?
(00:24):
Well, if you laughed out loud atthat idea, you're not alone.
Because as homesteaders, we knowthat having a foot planted in
our current modern lives whilestill adopting old fashioned
homestead practices ain't nojoke y'all.
And even though we call it thesimple life, sometimes it's not
(00:49):
exactly simple.
If you have ever felt fluttersof anxiety when you're planning
out future homestead projects orlet's be honest, sometimes it's
more like a steamroller, not aflutter.
You will love today's episode.
I'm your host Jill winger, andfor the last 10 years I've been
(01:14):
helping people just like you whofeel uninspired by modern life.
I'll show you how to create thelife you really want by growing
your own food and mastering oldfashioned skills.
Okay.
So it is no secret that we havedone a lot of big projects over
(01:34):
the years, whether it was ourextreme farmhouse make-over back
in 2015, building a shop fromthe ground up or pretty much
just redoing every inch of ourhomestead property from fence
lines to roofs to painting, tolandscaping.
(01:55):
And while we are no longer inthat start the homesteads stage,
we still have big projectshappenings in pretty much
everywhere in our lives, whetherit's continuing to build out the
homestead this summer we areredoing our corals and totally
remodeling the barn or in ourbusinesses.
(02:15):
So we always have lots and lotsgoing on with more in the works.
And if there's one thing I'velearned from over a decade of
big projects is that it'stotally normal to feel paralyzed
at the beginning.
Even though I'm a huge actiontaker and you've heard me talk
(02:37):
about it before, I love actionand driving forward and making
things happen.
I still get a sense of fear andyes, overwhelm when I dream up
something new now, even thoughthat still comes in, it's kind
of a familiar feeling to me.
I've learned how to overcome andI'm going to show you today
(03:02):
exactly how I map things out ina way that demystifies the
process of starting.
So grab a pen and paper.
This episode is going to bepacked full of juicy, actionable
details you're going to want towrite down.
(03:23):
All right, so step number one,and this is crucial, you've got
to get it out of your brain.
And what I mean by that is thefirst step of this process is
getting all the jumbled ideas,the goals, plans, worries, et
(03:44):
Cetera, out of our head and ontopaper.
Because I know this from manyyears of personal experience,
when they are floating aroundyour brain, they seem a thousand
times more daunting andoverwhelming than they really
are.
And I can tell you there's beenmore than one time where I'm,
(04:05):
you know, doing something in thekitchen or cleaning the house.
Then I'd just feel panicked andout of breath and I feel like I
can't get ahead and I have thisthing, you know, I'm thinking
about and something I have toget ready for the kids and the
activity we're doing tomorrowand you know, homeschool
planning and business projects.
And it just feels likeabsolutely unmanageable.
(04:25):
And when I take a minute to goto my planner or a blank sheet
of paper and write down what Iactually have to do to make
those things happen or to keepthem running, the sense of
relief is instant.
So this still applies whetheryou're doing a daily task or
(04:46):
working through weeklyscheduling or a big project like
starting a homestead.
You can do this exercise in yourplanner if you're a planner
person or on a giant whiteboard.
We actually have two bigwhiteboards here.
We have one in our office, andone in our shop.
So we are always scribblingthings out on a big whiteboard
(05:09):
or just grab a piece of paper.
It's totally up to you.
But what I want you to do is towrite down every single thing
that you have swirling around inyour head and just get it out of
your brain and onto paper.
Doesn't have to be organized.
It doesn't have to be insequential order.
Just write it down, even if it'sfragmented.
(05:29):
So for the sake of this example,this exercise will work for any
sort of project.
But let's say for the sake ofthis episode, I'm starting a
homestead from scratch.
So theoretically, if I'm in abuild a home set scenario, some
of the things that I might bewanting to do, you know, maybe
(05:52):
I'm seeing them on blogs or onyoutube channels and I think
that's a good idea.
I want that, you know, andthey're floating in my head.
I'm going to start writing downall of the things I'm interested
in.
So let's say starting a gardenwould be a big one.
Getting bees, getting chickens,learning how to bake bread,
(06:15):
getting our homestead pantryorganized, maybe remodeling a
barn or building fence, right?
Whatever it is.
I'm gonna write every singlething down that I possibly could
want to do in our brand newhomestead that we are
theoretically creating.
So once I have dumped everythingon the paper or the whiteboard
(06:38):
andyou can also do this on acomputer if you'd like.
For me, even though I use acomputer for a lot of planning
things, I like the process ofpen to paper or a marker to
whiteboard in this scenariobecause I feel like it, that
physical act of writing it outdoes more to clear it from my
brain.
It might just be my own littlething there, my own little quirk
(07:03):
but do what works for you.
But I would probably recommendpen or in paper or whiteboard
over computer for this.
So once this is all done, we'regoing to organize it.
So go through the list you justwrote down and assign dates or
time periods for each of theitems on your list because some
(07:27):
of the things you wrote downmight not happen for a couple of
years.
Then others might happen nextweek.
It does not matter when theyhappen, as long as you have a
plan of when they will come topass.
So for the sake of thisexercise, we're going to pretend
that chickens, you know, for mypretend brand new homestead are
(07:50):
something I want to have in fullswing within the next two
months.
Okay?
We'll say that the garden is ontrack to start in the next
month.
And then things like havinggetting goats or getting bees
and the bread baking, they'regoing to wait until a little
(08:13):
farther down the road.
Maybe I'll start working on thebread in the fall and the bees
will be next year.
So once I have everything with adate or time assigned, and
again, doesn't have to be anexact date for every little
thing.
For some of the more longtermprojects, you might just say
(08:33):
next year or in two years,right?
You just need to have roughcompartments where you're
organizing each section.
So once I have all thatorganized, I'm going to take a
highlighter or you can just useyour pen and star it or
underline it.
And I'm going to highlight orunderline the tasks that I need
(08:54):
to start working on liketomorrow.
So in this example, those thingswould be primarily the chickens
and the garden because I wantthose to start happening asap.
So I like to, from this list,have three to five things that
(09:16):
are really going to be the mosturgent.
Three is preferred, five ispushing it.
If you have a little highercapacity of being able to handle
more balls in the air at thesame time, you can go to five
but three is a good spot formost folks.
I had my three urgent tasks orprojects chosen and now I am
(09:38):
going to make an agreement withmyself to be at peace with the
rest of the things on that listand I'm going to mentally and
physically put those things onthe back burner for now.
Right.
And that's the key too.
Really zapping the overwhelm.
(09:59):
You have got to train your brainto focus on what's in front of
you and let the others rest inthe background because it's that
frantic jumping from one thingto the next that I find creates
the most feelings of panic andsubsequent overwhelm.
(10:21):
Okay, so now that we have ourthree to five things that we're
going to start working on asap,we're going to break it down
even further, so I'm going tomake a new column for the
immediate action items so youcan either get a new piece of
paper or write it down below.
(10:42):
And for the sake of thisexample, we're going to say
chickens and a garden are mynumber one priorities that need
to happen right away.
I need to break down each ofthese projects into baby steps
and get very specific on whatneeds to happen for each of
these goals to actually come tofruition.
(11:05):
Because let's just think aboutthis for a minute.
If on your to do list is getchickens, that's really vague
and really hard to define.
On the flip side, if on our listof things to do would be check
out the shed in the backyard andmake a list of materials we need
(11:28):
to build roosts that's a littlemore doable, that's a little
more tangible and we canactually wrap our brain around
when that's going to happen andwhat is going to look like.
So for chickens and my column ofimmediate action items, it might
be things like make roosts, makeor find nesting boxes, figure
(11:49):
out a source of chicken feedthat I like and out if we need
electricity in the coop and howwe're going to get it there for
the garden, that column, I mayneed to borrow a rototiller.
If I'm using a tilled method ofgardening, I may need to amend
(12:09):
my soil with natural fertilizer.
I can make a map of the rows soI know how much food I can fit
in my garden.
Sometimes you can use graphpaper or draw it out is kind of
fun.
We'll get a map going and orderseeds.
Okay.
So obviously this is just anexample and you're going to need
(12:29):
to break down your action itemsprobably in a different way
depending on your situation andyour location.
I just want you to keep in mindthat the more granular you can
get with your steps and yourprocesses, the more tension and
stress you will feel lift upfrom you.
(12:51):
Okay?
So get detailed and specific.
All right, so last step here.
Once I have this breakdown ofeach action item, I need to
prioritize the steps I havelisted out and then figure out
who is responsible for eachstep.
(13:12):
So if you have a spouse, maybethey'll be more prone to do some
of those items than you would,or maybe you have a child or a
friend or a neighbor who canhelp you.
You just want to get clear onthe roles in this process and
who's gonna do what.
And if it's just you, that'sperfectly okay too.
(13:32):
You don't have to have a partnernecessarily to make this
homestead thing work.
Now in our unique situation andmy list that I just gave as an
example, I would probably askChristian if he could figure out
the coop electricity for thechickens and also maybe like
find a rototiller or till up thegarden for me.
(13:55):
Those would be his primaryroles, providing he's on board
with some of the ideas and thenI would probably get to work on
the rest.
So once I've assigned the roles,I'm going to prioritize which
one of these tasks comes first.
That way I know exactly what Ican start working on tomorrow
(14:17):
and what needs to wait, youknow, a couple of days or a
couple of weeks down the road.
Now even when you break thesedown to the most granular steps,
you still have to be committedto action, right?
So you can put this on yourcalendar and number them out.
You still have to say, we'regoing to do this.
Even if I'm not really sure whatI'm doing, we're going to take
(14:38):
that step forward.
So for this list in our example,for me, I would probably say
mapping out the rows in thegarden would be my number one
priority because that's gonnagive me a feel of what I'm
planting and what seeds I needto then purchase.
So the seeds would be second andfinding the fertilizer or manure
(15:01):
would be third on my prioritylist.
And then Christian could befiguring out the tiller
situation in the process.
For chickens, if I'mprioritizing that, figuring out
electricity would be first andforemost just to make sure that
chickens are actually going tobe a possibility for us.
Then I probably find or sourcesome nesting boxes and roosts
(15:26):
and then right before I'd getthe chicks from the feed store,
we'd work on making sure we havea good source of chicken feed.
Right?
So we're just, I just go throughand put numbers and then if I'm
doing this on a piece of paperor a Whiteboard, I take those
tasks and insert them into myplanner.
And if you use a phone for yourtask list or your calendar, you
(15:49):
can do that as well.
I have a paper planner and Ilike to write these into the
weeks and the days so I knowexactly when they're gonna
happen.
And the last step to this wholeprocess, like I said, you had
just got to do it.
Keep in mind that startinganything of value, I don't care
(16:11):
if it's starting a homestead orstarting a business or going
back to school or a new hobby.
It almost always feels likeleaping off a cliff and I don't
know of a way to make thatfeeling go away.
It's just how it works.
That is why it is utterly vitalthat you learn how to do it.
(16:34):
Scared, right?
Do it scared.
That's my motto.
Butterflies and all do yourhomework like we talked about.
Break it down, have a plan, butthen know at some point you just
gotta dive in.
Overwhelm or no overwhelm.
And what I tell myself over andover, and this is so true.
(16:56):
Action cures fear.
So even if you have all thebutterflies taking that first
step, we'll dispel more of themthan you can imagine.
And once you start getting intothese simple little baby steps,
you're going to feel that senseof accomplishment and
satisfaction and you're onlygonna want to keep doing it.
(17:19):
So it does get easier.
It's a little bit of a snowballeffect.
It's really hard to get thesnowball started, but once it
gets rolling, things generallyget easier and easier to make
happen.
As we wrap this up, I hope thatgave you some actionable ideas
for fighting the homesteadoverwhelm.
(17:40):
And one little note that I wantto underscore here as we close
this episode, when it comes tothe feeling of being
overwhelmed, one of the biggestcontributing factors I see to
this issue is comparison.
And when I personally start tofeel like I'm not making
(18:00):
progress fast enough or I'mnever going to get there, or
there's too many things swirlingin my head, I can usually trace
that feeling back to me spendinga little bit too much time
watching what other people aredoing.
Now, I love getting inspirationfrom others and I do that a lot.
(18:22):
But if you find yourselfstruggling with jealousy or just
feeling less than or not enough,I recommend taking a little
break from social media orwherever you're finding these
feelings of comparison creepinginto your life so you can focus
on your own projects andcelebrate your own progress
(18:44):
because your path is going to bedifferent from anyone else's
including mine and it's okay toget inspiration but don't let it
derail you.
All right, my friends, if youare ready and more than ever to
do this homesteading thing, Ican help and if you don't know
(19:07):
where to start, that isabsolutely my specialty.
I happen to have an entirelibrary of resources I've put
together for homesteaders justlike you, whether you are new or
experienced and you can getcomplimentary access to this
library for free attheprairiehomestead.com/grow
(19:31):
I'll drop that in the show notesas well, theprairie
homestead.com/grow and that isit for this episode.
Thank you so much for listening,and if you feel inspired too, I
would be so honored if you woulddrop me a quick review over on
iTunes so more homesteaders canfind this podcast and bring the
(19:54):
idea of being old fashioned onpurpose into their lives.
I'll see you in the nextepisode.
Happy homesteading y'all.
Welcome to the old fashioned on purpose podcast.
Expansive Vegetable Gardens,flocks of chickens, barn
construction, milk goats,home-baked bread.
Sounds like just the normal todo list for the average modern
person in 2019 right?
(00:24):
Well, if you laughed out loud atthat idea, you're not alone.
Because as homesteaders, we knowthat having a foot planted in
our current modern lives whilestill adopting old fashioned
homestead practices ain't nojoke y'all.
And even though we call it thesimple life, sometimes it's not
(00:49):
exactly simple.
If you have ever felt fluttersof anxiety when you're planning
out future homestead projects orlet's be honest, sometimes it's
more like a steamroller, not aflutter.
You will love today's episode.
I'm your host Jill winger, andfor the last 10 years I've been
(01:14):
helping people just like you whofeel uninspired by modern life.
I'll show you how to create thelife you really want by growing
your own food and mastering oldfashioned skills.
Okay.
So it is no secret that we havedone a lot of big projects over
(01:34):
the years, whether it was ourextreme farmhouse make-over back
in 2015, building a shop fromthe ground up or pretty much
just redoing every inch of ourhomestead property from fence
lines to roofs to painting, tolandscaping.
(01:55):
And while we are no longer inthat start the homesteads stage,
we still have big projectshappenings in pretty much
everywhere in our lives, whetherit's continuing to build out the
homestead this summer we areredoing our corals and totally
remodeling the barn or in ourbusinesses.
(02:15):
So we always have lots and lotsgoing on with more in the works.
And if there's one thing I'velearned from over a decade of
big projects is that it'stotally normal to feel paralyzed
at the beginning.
Even though I'm a huge actiontaker and you've heard me talk
(02:37):
about it before, I love actionand driving forward and making
things happen.
I still get a sense of fear andyes, overwhelm when I dream up
something new now, even thoughthat still comes in, it's kind
of a familiar feeling to me.
I've learned how to overcome andI'm going to show you today
(03:02):
exactly how I map things out ina way that demystifies the
process of starting.
So grab a pen and paper.
This episode is going to bepacked full of juicy, actionable
details you're going to want towrite down.
(03:23):
All right, so step number one,and this is crucial, you've got
to get it out of your brain.
And what I mean by that is thefirst step of this process is
getting all the jumbled ideas,the goals, plans, worries, et
(03:44):
Cetera, out of our head and ontopaper.
Because I know this from manyyears of personal experience,
when they are floating aroundyour brain, they seem a thousand
times more daunting andoverwhelming than they really
are.
And I can tell you there's beenmore than one time where I'm,
(04:05):
you know, doing something in thekitchen or cleaning the house.
Then I'd just feel panicked andout of breath and I feel like I
can't get ahead and I have thisthing, you know, I'm thinking
about and something I have toget ready for the kids and the
activity we're doing tomorrowand you know, homeschool
planning and business projects.
And it just feels likeabsolutely unmanageable.
(04:25):
And when I take a minute to goto my planner or a blank sheet
of paper and write down what Iactually have to do to make
those things happen or to keepthem running, the sense of
relief is instant.
So this still applies whetheryou're doing a daily task or
(04:46):
working through weeklyscheduling or a big project like
starting a homestead.
You can do this exercise in yourplanner if you're a planner
person or on a giant whiteboard.
We actually have two bigwhiteboards here.
We have one in our office, andone in our shop.
So we are always scribblingthings out on a big whiteboard
(05:09):
or just grab a piece of paper.
It's totally up to you.
But what I want you to do is towrite down every single thing
that you have swirling around inyour head and just get it out of
your brain and onto paper.
Doesn't have to be organized.
It doesn't have to be insequential order.
Just write it down, even if it'sfragmented.
(05:29):
So for the sake of this example,this exercise will work for any
sort of project.
But let's say for the sake ofthis episode, I'm starting a
homestead from scratch.
So theoretically, if I'm in abuild a home set scenario, some
of the things that I might bewanting to do, you know, maybe
(05:52):
I'm seeing them on blogs or onyoutube channels and I think
that's a good idea.
I want that, you know, andthey're floating in my head.
I'm going to start writing downall of the things I'm interested
in.
So let's say starting a gardenwould be a big one.
Getting bees, getting chickens,learning how to bake bread,
(06:15):
getting our homestead pantryorganized, maybe remodeling a
barn or building fence, right?
Whatever it is.
I'm gonna write every singlething down that I possibly could
want to do in our brand newhomestead that we are
theoretically creating.
So once I have dumped everythingon the paper or the whiteboard
(06:38):
andyou can also do this on acomputer if you'd like.
For me, even though I use acomputer for a lot of planning
things, I like the process ofpen to paper or a marker to
whiteboard in this scenariobecause I feel like it, that
physical act of writing it outdoes more to clear it from my
brain.
It might just be my own littlething there, my own little quirk
(07:03):
but do what works for you.
But I would probably recommendpen or in paper or whiteboard
over computer for this.
So once this is all done, we'regoing to organize it.
So go through the list you justwrote down and assign dates or
time periods for each of theitems on your list because some
(07:27):
of the things you wrote downmight not happen for a couple of
years.
Then others might happen nextweek.
It does not matter when theyhappen, as long as you have a
plan of when they will come topass.
So for the sake of thisexercise, we're going to pretend
that chickens, you know, for mypretend brand new homestead are
(07:50):
something I want to have in fullswing within the next two
months.
Okay?
We'll say that the garden is ontrack to start in the next
month.
And then things like havinggetting goats or getting bees
and the bread baking, they'regoing to wait until a little
(08:13):
farther down the road.
Maybe I'll start working on thebread in the fall and the bees
will be next year.
So once I have everything with adate or time assigned, and
again, doesn't have to be anexact date for every little
thing.
For some of the more longtermprojects, you might just say
(08:33):
next year or in two years,right?
You just need to have roughcompartments where you're
organizing each section.
So once I have all thatorganized, I'm going to take a
highlighter or you can just useyour pen and star it or
underline it.
And I'm going to highlight orunderline the tasks that I need
(08:54):
to start working on liketomorrow.
So in this example, those thingswould be primarily the chickens
and the garden because I wantthose to start happening asap.
So I like to, from this list,have three to five things that
(09:16):
are really going to be the mosturgent.
Three is preferred, five ispushing it.
If you have a little highercapacity of being able to handle
more balls in the air at thesame time, you can go to five
but three is a good spot formost folks.
I had my three urgent tasks orprojects chosen and now I am
(09:38):
going to make an agreement withmyself to be at peace with the
rest of the things on that listand I'm going to mentally and
physically put those things onthe back burner for now.
Right.
And that's the key too.
Really zapping the overwhelm.
(09:59):
You have got to train your brainto focus on what's in front of
you and let the others rest inthe background because it's that
frantic jumping from one thingto the next that I find creates
the most feelings of panic andsubsequent overwhelm.
(10:21):
Okay, so now that we have ourthree to five things that we're
going to start working on asap,we're going to break it down
even further, so I'm going tomake a new column for the
immediate action items so youcan either get a new piece of
paper or write it down below.
(10:42):
And for the sake of thisexample, we're going to say
chickens and a garden are mynumber one priorities that need
to happen right away.
I need to break down each ofthese projects into baby steps
and get very specific on whatneeds to happen for each of
these goals to actually come tofruition.
(11:05):
Because let's just think aboutthis for a minute.
If on your to do list is getchickens, that's really vague
and really hard to define.
On the flip side, if on our listof things to do would be check
out the shed in the backyard andmake a list of materials we need
(11:28):
to build roosts that's a littlemore doable, that's a little
more tangible and we canactually wrap our brain around
when that's going to happen andwhat is going to look like.
So for chickens and my column ofimmediate action items, it might
be things like make roosts, makeor find nesting boxes, figure
(11:49):
out a source of chicken feedthat I like and out if we need
electricity in the coop and howwe're going to get it there for
the garden, that column, I mayneed to borrow a rototiller.
If I'm using a tilled method ofgardening, I may need to amend
(12:09):
my soil with natural fertilizer.
I can make a map of the rows soI know how much food I can fit
in my garden.
Sometimes you can use graphpaper or draw it out is kind of
fun.
We'll get a map going and orderseeds.
Okay.
So obviously this is just anexample and you're going to need
(12:29):
to break down your action itemsprobably in a different way
depending on your situation andyour location.
I just want you to keep in mindthat the more granular you can
get with your steps and yourprocesses, the more tension and
stress you will feel lift upfrom you.
(12:51):
Okay?
So get detailed and specific.
All right, so last step here.
Once I have this breakdown ofeach action item, I need to
prioritize the steps I havelisted out and then figure out
who is responsible for eachstep.
(13:12):
So if you have a spouse, maybethey'll be more prone to do some
of those items than you would,or maybe you have a child or a
friend or a neighbor who canhelp you.
You just want to get clear onthe roles in this process and
who's gonna do what.
And if it's just you, that'sperfectly okay too.
(13:32):
You don't have to have a partnernecessarily to make this
homestead thing work.
Now in our unique situation andmy list that I just gave as an
example, I would probably askChristian if he could figure out
the coop electricity for thechickens and also maybe like
find a rototiller or till up thegarden for me.
(13:55):
Those would be his primaryroles, providing he's on board
with some of the ideas and thenI would probably get to work on
the rest.
So once I've assigned the roles,I'm going to prioritize which
one of these tasks comes first.
That way I know exactly what Ican start working on tomorrow
(14:17):
and what needs to wait, youknow, a couple of days or a
couple of weeks down the road.
Now even when you break thesedown to the most granular steps,
you still have to be committedto action, right?
So you can put this on yourcalendar and number them out.
You still have to say, we'regoing to do this.
Even if I'm not really sure whatI'm doing, we're going to take
(14:38):
that step forward.
So for this list in our example,for me, I would probably say
mapping out the rows in thegarden would be my number one
priority because that's gonnagive me a feel of what I'm
planting and what seeds I needto then purchase.
So the seeds would be second andfinding the fertilizer or manure
(15:01):
would be third on my prioritylist.
And then Christian could befiguring out the tiller
situation in the process.
For chickens, if I'mprioritizing that, figuring out
electricity would be first andforemost just to make sure that
chickens are actually going tobe a possibility for us.
Then I probably find or sourcesome nesting boxes and roosts
(15:26):
and then right before I'd getthe chicks from the feed store,
we'd work on making sure we havea good source of chicken feed.
Right?
So we're just, I just go throughand put numbers and then if I'm
doing this on a piece of paperor a Whiteboard, I take those
tasks and insert them into myplanner.
And if you use a phone for yourtask list or your calendar, you
(15:49):
can do that as well.
I have a paper planner and Ilike to write these into the
weeks and the days so I knowexactly when they're gonna
happen.
And the last step to this wholeprocess, like I said, you had
just got to do it.
Keep in mind that startinganything of value, I don't care
(16:11):
if it's starting a homestead orstarting a business or going
back to school or a new hobby.
It almost always feels likeleaping off a cliff and I don't
know of a way to make thatfeeling go away.
It's just how it works.
That is why it is utterly vitalthat you learn how to do it.
(16:34):
Scared, right?
Do it scared.
That's my motto.
Butterflies and all do yourhomework like we talked about.
Break it down, have a plan, butthen know at some point you just
gotta dive in.
Overwhelm or no overwhelm.
And what I tell myself over andover, and this is so true.
(16:56):
Action cures fear.
So even if you have all thebutterflies taking that first
step, we'll dispel more of themthan you can imagine.
And once you start getting intothese simple little baby steps,
you're going to feel that senseof accomplishment and
satisfaction and you're onlygonna want to keep doing it.
(17:19):
So it does get easier.
It's a little bit of a snowballeffect.
It's really hard to get thesnowball started, but once it
gets rolling, things generallyget easier and easier to make
happen.
As we wrap this up, I hope thatgave you some actionable ideas
for fighting the homesteadoverwhelm.
(17:40):
And one little note that I wantto underscore here as we close
this episode, when it comes tothe feeling of being
overwhelmed, one of the biggestcontributing factors I see to
this issue is comparison.
And when I personally start tofeel like I'm not making
(18:00):
progress fast enough or I'mnever going to get there, or
there's too many things swirlingin my head, I can usually trace
that feeling back to me spendinga little bit too much time
watching what other people aredoing.
Now, I love getting inspirationfrom others and I do that a lot.
(18:22):
But if you find yourselfstruggling with jealousy or just
feeling less than or not enough,I recommend taking a little
break from social media orwherever you're finding these
feelings of comparison creepinginto your life so you can focus
on your own projects andcelebrate your own progress
(18:44):
because your path is going to bedifferent from anyone else's
including mine and it's okay toget inspiration but don't let it
derail you.
All right, my friends, if youare ready and more than ever to
do this homesteading thing, Ican help and if you don't know
(19:07):
where to start, that isabsolutely my specialty.
I happen to have an entirelibrary of resources I've put
together for homesteaders justlike you, whether you are new or
experienced and you can getcomplimentary access to this
library for free attheprairiehomestead.com/grow
(19:31):
I'll drop that in the show notesas well, theprairie
homestead.com/grow and that isit for this episode.
Thank you so much for listening,and if you feel inspired too, I
would be so honored if you woulddrop me a quick review over on
iTunes so more homesteaders canfind this podcast and bring the
(19:54):
idea of being old fashioned onpurpose into their lives.
I'll see you in the nextepisode.
Happy homesteading y'all.
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