Tag Archives: chores

Podcasts in the background or foreground?

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When I’m doing repetitive tasks and chores I listen to podcasts. I find them easier to follow than audio books when the task requires some of my attention. There is something about long format interview podcasts that really appeals to me. I find that I can feel like I’m sitting in the room with the people having the discussion, like a fly on the wall, observing, but not participating… yet still part of the conversation.

Listening today really made me want to revitalize my podcast. I enjoy the process. I just need to design a schedule that allows me to commit to it. I don’t want to put the effort in to produce two or three more then stop again. I think I need to start the school year up again then figure out if it’s something I want to add while I’m busy. Because if it feels like work after a full week at work, it’s not going to last very long.

I need to decide that it’s something I want to do in the background of my current schedule, or if I’ll just enjoy the work of other people. There’s a big difference E tween enjoying a good podcast and putting the time and energy into creating one.

Errands day

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Some days are just task after task. The day feels slow then you look back and realize that it was a good day filled with small accomplishments.

My favourite thing to do with errands is to listen to a book. Something like watering plants suddenly feels like it’s worthwhile doing. But some tasks pull me away from my book and I find myself rewinding to re-listen at times. Still, this isn’t work, it’s errands. And if I’m searching through camping gear and forget that I’m also listening to a book, that’s ok.

Getting stuff done always feels good after the fact. Check a few things off of the ‘to do’ list, and listen to a good spy novel while I’m at it… sounds like a pretty good summer day to me.

Un-handyman

I’m trying to set up a new pump, sand filter, and solar panels for our above ground pool. Whenever I do something like this, my ineptitude at being a handyman goes on full display.

Wrong items picked up at Home Depot, not having everything I need, and hours of watching other people do what I want to do on YouTube, lead to hours of work and very slow progress. To top it off, the flexible piping that was supposed to arrive yesterday still hasn’t come in.

So now I have a half-done job that can’t be finished, and even when the piping comes in, I’m still not 100% sure how I’m going to strap the solar panels onto my garage roof?

I wish I had more skills in this area. I don’t. The good news is that I got a fair bit done today… by putting a lot of time into the project. However, there is still a fair bit to do, I’ll probably end up at Home Depot 2-3 more times, and I’ll be rewatching a few videos when I’m ready to start the new pump and filter up. Such is the life of an un-handyman trying to do handy things. If I keep doing things like this, hopefully I’ll be able to remove the ‘un’ and just call myself handy.

Yard work

I’ve probably written about this several times before, but I’m really not a fan of yard work. I don’t understand growing grass and making it nice and healthy, just so that it needs to be cut more often. I think weeds are prettier than a blanket of green grass. I understand watering a vegetable or herb garden, but flowers are made to be outside… if they don’t grow with the weather you have in your environment, then they are the wrong flowers to grow.

I love being outside, and I enjoy my back yard immensely. I want to spend time out in the sunshine. In fact, I’m about to assemble our above ground pool and I’m looking forward to putting a couple hours into this. So, it’s not that I don’t like doing chores outside, I just don’t like gardening, and cutting the grass, and weeding. Maybe one day, 30 years from now, if my knees and back are capable, I might fall in love with nurturing a garden. But right now, I’d rather sit in my back yard and enjoy the dandelions… if only my wife (and neighbours) agreed with me. 🙂