Rain continued to fall and I stared out the window for a sign that the constant down pour would let up. The local radar loaded on my phone for the twentieth time and confirmed that I had a slight opening of clear weather. If I was going to pull this off, I had to be at my spot between 1 pm and 3 pm. This was my window of opportunity.
Heading south I had my doubts. The rain continued to pound my windshield and I thought “Who would be crazy enough to go out in this weather.” My mantra “You’re going to have to earn it” holds true to every aspect of life…even picking pumpkins.
Every year Rod and Peg plant a pumpkin patch and they give us kids and our families’ first crack at the beautiful bounty. I saw this rainy Sunday as the perfect time to go pick pumpkins. Stephanie questioned my judgement, however I assured her the weather would let up. In my opinion this Sunday was ideal. Hunting six hours in the rain the previous day kept me out of the woods this particular morning. The deer activity was good, but tracking a hit animal in constant rain can be challenging. Plus my clothes were wet and the idea of shivering in a tree stand resulted in me not hunting. As an alternative I suggested picking pumpkins. Stephanie, Abbie, and Dax met me down at the farm. Just as I predicted the rain let up. Venturing out into the pumpkin patch in a slight drizzle we picked the best pumpkins, gourds, and Indian corn we could find. Sure we got wet, muddy and cold. But from the pictures you can tell everyone had a good time. And in the end that is what matters.
How Does This Apply to Business
Every hunting season I struggle with committing to activities that pull me from the woods. There is a limited number of times I can go hunting and I want to make sure I maximize my chances of success. However, in life you need to find a balance between work, family, and hunting (self-interests). This will not be an equal equation and your ratio will not match mine. If you only focus on one area the other two will suffer. I firmly believe that you need to spend time on all three. If you don’t, your overall quality of life will suffer.
A good exercise to get a grasp on your time is to draw a circle. That circle represents 24 hours in a day. First fill in part of the circle that represents sleep. Be honest, but for most people this will be 7 or 8 hours. I use seven hours. Next block off work (I use 9 hours). Third block off “me” time (I block off two hours for shooting my bow, exercising, reading, or other activities I enjoy). This leaves six hours of family time! Of course commutes, household chores and other daily tasks will cut into your day, but the point is there are plenty of hours in the day for work, family, and self-interests if you use your time wisely and don’t waste it. Weekends will be different from weekdays and not every day will be the same. The first step in maximizing your time is figuring out where you are going to spend it.
Until next time remember…you are going to have to earn it.