Anticipation
When youre about to undergo a project, does simply looking forward to it morph into anticipation, and then quickly become unfulfilled obsession? Does me. If youve been reading these blogs…
When youre about to undergo a project, does simply looking forward to it morph into anticipation, and then quickly become unfulfilled obsession? Does me.
If youve been reading these blogs regularly, you know I built a shed to house garage stuff, and thus allow me to completely redesign my shop layout. Well, the sheds done has been for a couple weeks but I have several deadlines to meet right now and cant possibly get started on my shop rebuild. And its making me crazy.
I can be a procrastinator sometimes and Im cool with that, but when external items on my to-do list force procrastination on me, it drives me nuts. I want to be out there redoing my shop so badly I can taste it. Constantly thinking about it intrudes upon other things (work mostly), and I find myself lying in bed at night pining to get started maybe tomorrow.
But the enforced wait hasnt been all bad. For one thing, work deadlines mean paychecks. For another, a crush of deadlines happening concurrently usually means a lull will follow, further meaning that when I do get started on the shop Ill have a good bit of uninterrupted time.
Whats more, having the extra time to think about what Im going to do has ensured that I wont rush into any one shop solution. Ive been tossing several ideas around, and in taking the extra time before getting started although that extra time has been forced on me rather than my taking extra time through personal wisdom and restraint Ive embellished some of those ideas and discarded others. My new shop, as a result, will be all the better.
In retrospect, this enforced delay in getting started on my shop rebuild is a good thing.
But the wait to get started is killing me.
Till next time,
A.J.

A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.