Have you ever noticed how the year seems to be moving at about 900 miles an hour, but somehow one Tuesday afternoon can last approximately three business years?
Seriously, I swear I just put the Christmas decorations away, and now we're already halfway through another year. Pretty soon people are going to start asking what I want for Christmas again, and I'm still trying to remember where I put the screwdriver I had five minutes ago.
The strange part is that the years fly by, but the days drag.
I think I know why.
It's because my brain has about 47 projects it wants to do at any given moment.
I want to build something.
I want to fix something.
I want to remodel something.
I want to organize the garage.
I want to work on the yard.
I have ideas for things I could make.
I have things I've been meaning to finish since approximately the invention of electricity.
Then I look at the price of everything.
Suddenly, that project doesn't seem quite as important.
"Yep. That's a great idea."
Looks at price tag.
"Actually, I think I'll just sit here."
And that's when the project goes directly into the "Maybe Someday" department.
The funny thing is, I'll spend an hour thinking about how great the finished project is going to look.
I'll plan it in my head.
I'll figure out how I'm going to build it.
I'll decide what tools I'll need.
I'll even imagine how much better my life will be when it's finished.
Then I remember that lumber costs money.
Hardware costs money.
Paint costs money.
Tools cost money.
And apparently even the air you breathe around a home improvement store probably has a surcharge now.
So I put the project on hold.
Then another idea pops into my head.
And another.
Before I know it, I've got enough unfinished ideas to start my own construction company.
The problem isn't that I don't know what to do.
The problem is deciding which thing to do first...
and whether I actually want to pay for it.
That's probably another reason the days feel so long.
You spend the whole day working, thinking about everything you want to accomplish when you finally have some free time.
Then you get home.
You sit down for "just a minute."
And suddenly it's 9:30 at night.
Apparently that chair has a time machine built into it.
Then you wake up the next morning and think:
"Well, today I'll get something done."
And the cycle begins again.
The crazy part is that when you look back, the year feels like it disappeared.
January was yesterday.
Summer showed up for about twelve minutes.
And somehow we're already talking about fall.
Yet there are days where 4:00 PM feels like it should legally be tomorrow.
Maybe that's just getting older.
Or maybe it's having too many ideas and not enough money, time, energy, or motivation to do all of them.
But I think there's something good about still having projects you want to do.
Even if they sit on the back burner for a while.
Because as long as you're still thinking, creating, building, fixing and dreaming up something new, you're not standing completely still.
And eventually, I'll probably start one of those projects.
I'll buy the materials.
I'll drag out the tools.
I'll get halfway through it.
Then I'll discover I need one more thing from the store.
And that's when I'll stand there staring at the receipt thinking:
"Well... this project just got a whole lot more expensive."
Then I'll laugh, put it on the credit card, and keep going.
Because apparently that's how projects work.
And that's how the years work too.
The days drag.
The years fly.
And somewhere in between, we're just trying to get a few things done without spending our entire paycheck doing it.
So if you have a project you've been putting off because you don't know where to start...
or because you don't want to spend the money...
don't feel bad.
You're not alone.
Just pick one thing.
Start small.
And if that doesn't work, sit in the chair for five minutes.
Just remember to set an alarm.
That chair is dangerous.
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