One of the questions I’m often asked is “How do you get so much done in a day?” My answer is always the same: You’re reading what I write. If you wrote down everything you do in a day, I think you would be surprised at your accomplishments too. I don’t write down that I am sewing, I sit down at the computer while waiting for the iron to heat up and half an hour later, the iron has heated up and turned itself off again and I’m still sitting at the computer . . my cycle continues! I don’t write that I come in from outside to get a load of laundry out of the washer, realize the washer has 5 minutes remaining, I sit down at the computer and one hour later, the clothes are still sitting in the washer and I’ve wasted an hour. Believe me . . I’m not the “busy, go-getter, accomplish-it-all-in-one-day” person that some of you think I am.
It is a blessing to have an extreme amount of energy. It is a curse to have an extreme amount of energy. I cannot sit still. Torture for me is going to the movies (which I haven’t done in years and years). Torture or me is sitting and visiting with nothing to do with my hands.
A turning point for me was about 12 years ago when Vince and I were driving through Montana and stopped at the Museum of the Plains Indian. As we were walking through that museum, I was struck by the following thought. Those people had to either grow or hunt their food. They had to clean their food, preserve by whatever means the food they wanted to save. They had absolutely no modern conveniences . . no microwave, no gas stove, no refrigeration as we know it. They had to learn skills for whatever they wanted or needed to do to get through life. They had no internet for reference. It’s a lifestyle most of us cannot even imagine . . and my guess is that none of us would want to live.
And yet, they had time to make the most intricate of beaded items – clothing, bags, decorative items. They didn’t have recliners or Ott lights. When and how did they find the time to do all that stuff?
After visiting that museum, there’s never a day that goes by that I don’t think of that lifestyle . . the things those people had to do to survive and yet they still had only 24 hours in a day, they lived under the harshest of conditions . . I can do more! That’s what keeps me going and striving to do more.
To a bit more modern (but not so much) time, when I was growing up, my grandparents lived two hours from us and they had no phone. We wrote letters. I would write them at least once a week and my grandma would write me back. I loved going to the mail box and finding a letter from her. I wish I had saved them. I don’t even remember what she wrote because like me today, she hardly ever left the house, she stayed home and “piddled” but she always had interesting news in her letters. I sometimes think we stayed more in touch, knew more meaningful information about what was going on in each other’s lives back then when we had to sit down and write a letter, stick it in an envelope, use a postage stamp and wait a week for it to get to its destination . . than we do now when all we have to do is pick up a phone and make a call. I talk to Chad or Nicole 3 or 4 times a week and while I love talking to them, it’s different from getting a “newsy” letter from my grandma.
My lifestyle is different from almost every one who reads this blog. We live in the middle of nowhere. For the most part, we have no friends here . . and by friends, in my mind there’s a difference in friends and acquaintances. We have no family nearby. I don’t work outside the home. I rarely leave home . . probably once every two weeks . . Vince drags me out of the house and I’m making a dozen excuses why I shouldn’t be leaving.
Your life is . . your life! Don’t compare what you do to what you read about me doing. At the end of the day, if you’re happy with what you’ve done and what you’ve accomplished, that’s fantastic! If you’re not happy with your accomplishments, work on changing it . . work on changing it because YOU want to change it . . not because you feel you should do more or less, based on a comparison to what someone else is doing
All I ask is that you remember this . . every day, every hour, every minute that passes is gone forever. Make the best of each and every minute of your life. Do the things you love to do. Do the things that make a difference . . either in your own life or in the life of someone you care about.
Vivian Oaks says
I need to keep hearing this…. I’ve read it on your blog before, and I hope I keep reading it. If I’d just take it to heart now, I might actually get more accomplished. My kindle on my phone is my worst enemy now, because I have so many books I want to read. I tend to go to my phone to read than to do things I should be doing. Thanks for the reminder that I need to do more than just sit and read all day!! 🙂
Sharon in Michigan says
Nicely put. Thanks for the pep talk – it helped as I looked around the house to see what I’ve done this past 4 hours.
Shauna T says
It is funny how we always compare our lives to others, but when push comes to shove most of us won’t do anything to change our lives. I’ love reading your blog (chicken stories make me laugh), but I have no real desire for your life. I have learned that my life, good, bad and indifferent is mine and it is the only life I”m going to have so I might as well enjoy it. Do I wish I could win the lottery and quilt all day…sure, but then I would probably become bored with quilting. I agree, live your life your way and you’ll be so much happier than if you live your life someone elses way.
Julie in WA says
I LOVE this post! I am, by nature, a veeery lazy creature, and yes, hours can creep by while I am ‘quickly” looking something up online.
You were impressed by the Indians; I am impressed by the pioneer women. I think of them nearly every day when I am wasting time. How on earth did they have the energy to help out breaking the earth, tending gardens, doing all-day laundry, slow cooking everything, making their own bread, mend clothing, etc etc. AND they still were able to quilt! They had no appliances to speed up any of the daily processes. Many tims a day I must remind myself to be more pioneer and get things done….
And as for the mail….my mom and my gramma wrote each other once a week, kept in relationship through the post office. When I went to college (75 miles from home) my mom faithfully wrote me once a week. Oh, how special those letters were…they kept coming when I transferred to a college 750 miles away, and again when I married and moved half way across the country. Today we email every single day, even if there is nothing to write about. We always keep in touch. I can’t wait for her email to come in the evenings….
Keep up the great posts, Judy! Now I must “think pioneer” and get some stuff done today….
Barbara says
My mother is 94 and we still write letters to each other every week.
My daughter text or emails me every day and I reply with same.
I’m always happy at the end of the day with how I spent my day….it doesn’t matter if I had a productive day or sat around doing nothing.
I never compare my self or my days to anyone else.
Linda says
How did they do it in those days! Their methods and tools were primitive. I’ve often wondered about the Indian gardeners who dropped a fish in the planting hole –how did they prevent the raccoons from digging up the fish and destroying the planting? Doesn’t work in my garden. Yes, Julie in WA, the pioneer women mended the clothing, but they also made the clothing. By hand. Without a machine. And it takes me forever to make a garment or a quilt using the latest tools…. rotary cutter, electronic sewing machine, etc. I have about come to the decision that I have wasted a lot of time in my life obsessing about housework. I think neatness counts, but over-dusting, etc can be wasteful. Likewise, technology definitely is wasteful. (But it can bring a lot of enjoyment. Balance is the key, I guess.) Life is short. Thank you for the post,, Judy. It is good to re-evaluate from time to time.
Susan says
Well said, Judy. Thanks.
Mary Carter says
I enjoyed reading how you looked forward to your grandmother’s letters. When my mother married and moved a long distance away, she wrote letters to her mother almost daily and the best part of all that was that my grandmother SAVED all of them. When the family was cleaning out as my grandmother was moving to an apartment, each child took their own letters. In reading them it is like a history book. How she managed to do all the things she did with hardly any modern items. Her iron was heavy and heated on a wood stove, she cooked for all the farm hands that worked there. She had chickens and a huge garden, canned a lot. As I read them I put them in date order and printed them off. Someday my daughter says she will write a book. Life was hard but she enjoyed every minute of it.
Mary
Janna says
My grandmother and I also exchanged letters with me continuing to write even after she went into the nursing home–one of her daughters would read my letters to her.
Seize the day, always. I just received a call this morning from my best friend–they have discovered a mass on her husband’s hip and one in his lung–he is 67 years old. Make the most of every single day, don’t be so quick to judge (this is what I am telling myself), smile and laugh often and tell those you care about, “I love you.”
I too have a hard time sitting still–torture for me was sitting on a plane with nothing to read–my Kindle has helped that problem immensely!
Terri says
The timer and index cards are my friends. I have lots of WIPs so I write down what I need to get done on the cards and keep them by my machine. When it’s done I write what I want to to do next and move on to the next project/card. As far as the computer that’s where the timer comes in so I don’t waste hours. I straighten a room a day except the kitchen gets done everyday and I do a load of laundry a day. I have ADD so routine is key for me.
Peggy says
Great post, Judy. Especially thanks for the first sentence of the last paragraph. I”m planning to share that with my husband.
Robin says
Thanks.
AngieG9 says
Thanks for the reminder Judy.. I try to limit my computer time until after dinner, but it is like a siren song, always there singing my name. I have to limit what I do so I won’t bring on another MS relapse, which means I have to stop and rest at frequent intervals. While I rest I either knit or read, because heaven forbid I just sit there. I’ve never been able to do that, until forced to by that danged disease, then I just go half crazy thinking of all the things I want to do. I’m ready for it to go away now, so I can get back to normal, except I have no idea what “normal” is. I wish I could still write letters, but even I can’t read my own handwriting any more. I do remember having pen pals as a child and a teenager. The fun of finding a letter in the mail, and immediately running in to answer it. My grandparents lived across the field from us, so I would walk over to spend the afternoon with them during the summer. I wish I had the sense enough back then to write down everything we talked about, because I don’t remember any of it anymore. I do remember she taught me to make the world’s best chicken and dumplings, something even my mom couldn’t make. We had so much more fun before all the modern technology because we had to use our brains to come up with ways to do things and new games to play. Now I mostly play “If only”.
Nancy Angerer says
Yes, you do live differently, but it suits the unique person you (and Vince) are. As much as I enjoy reading about Mean Chicken and Louise, I don’t want to be raising chickens. Of course, fresh eggs would be nice:)
Linda Steller says
It’s amazing what all sorts of people accomplished before our modern conveniences. I don’t accomplish nearly as much as I would like, but I know I’m living a fairly good life, making sure I take time to enjoy each day, and devoting time to my pets. I also like doing charity quilts and finding other ways to give back to the community. There is nothing like the passing of a friend, especially one younger than us, to remind me that life is short and, if I want to go with a feeling of accomplishment, I’d best move my buns!
Eileen Keane says
Judy, thank you for sharing your wisdom. You’re right; we all do what we need to do at our own speed.
Have a great weekend.
Margo says
Thank you, Judy, for your timely entry. I am now comforted with the knowledge that there is someone else out there that has thought about torture being the act of sitting in a movie theater (etc.) or visitng and NOT being able to keep my hands busy with a project.
My admiration of the American pioneer women and families drives me to not let a moment go unused.
Marlene says
I remember well how excited my mother was when she would get a letter from her mother – she read and re-read them. I also remember writing to my then boyfriend when he was in college and I was in high school. I still have all the letters he wrote to me packed away for our children to discover someday. I keep thinking I’ll do more writing but then I just grab the phone instead – maybe today I’ll drag out the stationary and write some notes instead. 🙂 My sister is much like you – lots and lots of energy. I envy her that but she agrees with you that sometimes it’s a curse! blessings, marlene
Liz says
I am also blessed /cursed with the be busy all the time. I can relate this back to college days when I worked full time and went to school full time. I made it work. Every minute counts – use it wisely.
Diane Wright says
omg you are my soul sister. I knew I followed your blog for a reason. Everything makes sense now. We are busy here too. I leave the house more than you but only if I have appointments or a grocery list; (Guild is a very important day and I have a quilt group I go to once a month and lunch once a month with the same group. Very refreshing.
I love flowers and keep up the pretties. It certainly takes time to deadhead, fertilize and water. Every time I read your blog I have something in common with you.. You are a prolific quilter, I am a quilter but get very few finished, maybe two a year. Thank you Judy for the time you spend on your blog, I enjoy them all.
Our family, 4 adults, are great hunter and gatherers, we are not green but productive and not wasteful. We grow all of our own vegetables in the summer (Oregon) when the weather permits. When the garden is on we are watering, weeding or picking. Starting right now we are preserving