How do you work?

I always want to get things done quickly, and sometimes I have to force myself to wait. Or at least pace myself. Like gardening; I want the boxes cleared, refilled, and planted. But it's too early to plant around here-- either the seeds drown, or the last cold spell hits. This week, we are supposed to have the last full moon of May, so we'll likely not get a darn thing even started yet. 

I want to blink and have the beds weeded. I want to blink and see all of it nice and tidy, all planted, all set. But that's not the way life works, right? We have work to do, it's never-ending, and one must --I must-- learn to appreciate the process. The thing is, I don't like weeding. I don't like the process nearly as much as I like mild maintenance. 

When I used to sew my own clothes, I would make a marathon of it. I made my prom dress in two sittings. I hate it when projects take too long; thus, I had/have no patience for knitting, crocheting, painting, etc. When I had to write papers in grad school, I'd do all the prep reading/annotating, etc. and then sit to write the paper. Not in sections--no, 8 hours at a clip. I know for a fact that I can produce a good draft of a 25-30 page paper in one long session. I'll take a short break, then dive back in to edit. It's not the way I'd recommend working on anything to anyone, but it is how I seem to have to do things. 

I'm considering a plan for housework for the week after school gets out. I have to engage in deep cleaning, and years ago, I'd just do it all in one or two days. I don't have the stamina to do that now. So, I'm choosing one major room per day for six days. It will be done. Then, maintenance. 

I wonder why I'm motivated towards these intense periods instead of puttering along? It's not ideal, to be sure. But if I can get things done by noon on the average non-school day, I feel like I'm a success, I've beat the clock, and the rest of the day is mine. I'm a pretty hard task-master. 

When I was working on my first master's thesis, I used to rise early in the summer, and do the reading/research and annotations for three hours, with only coffee. With-holding food worked for me. Work first, play later is so deeply ingrained in my psyche that I am quite strict with myself. Otherwise, I can easily kick things down the road.

Like the strawberry weeding. I don't want to, but it has to be done. Today's the day.

Have a good one,

C