Setting Realistic Goals
By Roger Hitchcock
As a farmer your home and work are usually one and the same. You can’t just walk out the office door and leave it all behind. The lists are never ending and there’s always something to do, all year. Add in the times that you might be feeling stressed, anxious or just bone tired and not yourself. Then all those unfinished jobs can make you feel worse. But what can you do? You can remind yourself that you just can’t do everything right now and set yourself a more realistic achievable goal.
A simple way to approach things is to write a list, or maybe use a white board in the shed, to arrange the tasks into from urgent, important, and back burner. Be honest and identify which jobs can wait until next week or next month. Look at the urgent jobs and make your plan to get these one or started by the end of the week this way you give yourself more time than just a day. Then when those unexpected things happen such as the trough water pipe bursting that has to be done immediately, then your weekly goal is still achievable.
At the end of the week or fortnight reward yourself for getting that task(s) done. If you get the task done and it is only halfway through the week then choose the next task and start that week from then. An example is harvesting time and the need to make sure that header, swather, truck and trailers, tractors, chaser bins are all serviced and ready to go. Instead of leaving this until when harvest starts have them on your list and look to service the machines a month or so earlier. Then as harvest approaches you have that important task done and can concentrate on another job.
With your busy day and weeks always have that time planned where you stop, be with your family, friends and spend some quality Me Time every day. Make this Me Time a part of your daily /weekly schedule and make your Me Time non-negotiable. This can be just an hour a day. The benefits of Me Time far out ways the negatives. You will be refreshed, more relaxed, feel better in yourself and this will equate to being more productive. You can’t do good work with blunt tools. You’re head and your body work the same way.
We all know what happens to a machine or a motor when you run it in the red all day every day, there is no difference with yourself. While having a whole day off is preferable so if you are able on this day go somewhere off property so you’re not at home looking out and seeing those tasks staring accusingly back at you.
The expert on how you feel and how you are going is yourself so listen to yourself, plan your weekly tasks so that these tasks are achievable and take that time out for yourself. Listen, to your body and obey what it says. If you are over tired or feeling a bit on edge because of how hard you have been pushing yourself take note of your body telling you to rest. You have your lists, have set your achievable goals and identified those jobs that can wait. Taking time for yourself is not selfish, you are a part of your family and family farm team. When you look after yourself you will be a more efficient and productive family/farm member. Also, you will be better able to keep yourself and your family relationships strong resulting in an ability to achieve more as a family farm team.
If things have started to become just too hard then reach out to those around, you or give us a call at Rural Aid. One of our wellness team is more than happy to have a confidential chat and assist you to reset yourself at a pace and place where you feel most comfortable.
