Samhain Publishing Ltd Weblog

Getting down and dirty

I’m not a procrastinator by nature. Usually, if I want something, I get on with the getting of it. But there is one area of my life that’s guaranteed to send me scuttling to find a drain to unblock or a window to clean.

Surprisingly, it’s not writing that has me blocked (although, hand on heart, that has been known to happen), nor is it a task that I hate, but it is something that seems to loom larger and less achievable every time I look out my kitchen window.

See there’s this large wilderness of land at the side of my garden that I’ve put off doing anything about for years now (yes, I did say years). Hubby says we should get in a professional, but that would feel like giving in. Besides which, I want to do most of it myself. I’ve got dreams of a Zen garden, with statues, bamboo plants and a secret little bench where I can relax and just be. Lots of beautiful shrubs and perhaps some trees. Maybe a water feature with soothing sounds of…anyway, I digress.

Now, I consider myself a reasonably intelligent woman. I know that things don’t get done without some kind of action on my part, that you have to put effort into getting what you want. So why don’t I just get on with it? Because it’s overwheming. The whole place is full of weeds and debris. Truth is, I just don’t know where to start.

Then the other week, my slimming club buddy and I were discussing our weight loss tactics. We worked out that if we lose just one pound a week, that would be the best part of one and a half stone off by Christmas. Well, that seems doable, doesn’t it? And it got me thinking about my garden. If I divided that wilderness into manageable chunks, say, cordoning off the whole area into patches three feet wide, I could do it bit by bit. I’ve already finished the first chunk and have this amazing sense of achievement. It might not seem much to the gardeners out there, but it feels huge to me. Already I’m scanning magazines for plant ideas and garden paraphernalia. I’ve got my eye on a gorgeous bamboo in a terracotta pot at my local nursery and if I can get the second patch done by the end of this week I’m heading down there with a deposit to secure that beauty.

I’m surprised it took me so long to work out that dividing this overwhelming task into bite-sized doable chunks was the way to go. I do it when I’m writing – plotting and planning the story scene by scene and chapter by chapter – so why didn’t I think to do it for this? Weird isn’t it? It really was a case of not seeing the wood for the trees.

Anyway, can’t stop. I need to go find my shovel…

Tricia
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