KW-51 Enoughness and routine

Time management, Barracks style

This week at the Barracks, we have been mostly concerned with the passage of time, and the theory and practice of routine.

The winter identification of trees is a fun hobby to get in to. This shot is down by the herb garden looking East, down towards the lake.Now, I know that there are at least seven species of tree on this photo, but I’m mostly sure that#s just because I’ve been watching them for the last 6 years.

I have noticed the development within the pirate of a strong feeling of idleness, disengagement. Of course, the hibernating gene has been starting to express itself, and there is nothing wrong with slowing down considerably over winter. Except, it’s been a growing feeling over the last few years.

For those of you who know me best, and are already growing in concern that I’m at the start of a winter depressive episode, it’s not. I’ve got quite good with dealing with the SAD these last few years, especially in recognising the slow folding of the light in on itself and this is not one of those. This story has a good middle, so bare with me and let’s see how it ends together.

I used to write myself a full programme of Things To Do for the week. I’d start off with a list of maybe 20 jobs, which I would apportion to one of three daily time-slots. Morning, afternoon, late. It was always a fun Sunday exercise, trying to imagine what mood I would be in when, and giving myself structure for the week. It was also very productive.

It doesn’t seem to work as much any more. Probably because I have a much better handle on how long things take, and what needs to be done. Do Not Die is no longer the challenge is was in Year One, it’s just the autonomous base layer that gets done almost unobserved.

Four Half Hours Per Day

The other feature of winter is, of course, that it is cold. And the only way to stay warm is to be outside, and be working.

But being outside, working to keep warm, means mostly doing heavy and hard work, and that is, well, heavy and hard. I made a deal with myself.

In order to keep warm, and also to keep pushing the project forwards, and hopefully to stave off feelings of flourishing idleness, I will do at least four half hour chunks of work per day. Freely coming inside to change wet socks, recharge the tea-levels, cook and eat, read or doomscroll.

And, dear reader, it worked incredibly. I hit the 4xhalf target every day from the very start, the halves soon became 45s, or an hour, and by the end of the week, I was feeling energised, productive and re-engaged with winter and the Barracks.

I can’t promise that it will last forever, that would be a silly promise anyway, but I am feeling good, working well, and ready for the solstice at the weekend.

Getting to the shortest day in a reasonably positive mindset is good. My wellness is more tightly linked to hours of sunlight than the warmth that it provides, but it is after the end of December when the temperatures really start to drop, so we have that to look forward to.

Oh, this was our first week of not a moment above freezing. Which was nice.

I’ve been busy in the woodshop as well Making a thing for the Granddaughter. It really does need to be finished, packed and on its way by the newsletter next week, but I thought I would let you see the progress of the little creatures who are going to inhabit it. I quite like being a granddad :)

A couple of random thoughts to finish off with:

I came across the word enoughness this week. Buried in the infinite scrolling of dumb memes, probably. I’ve always found the California sunshine hippy concepts of “Gratitude” and “Abundance” utterly nauseating, egocentric and rooted in greed and capitalism. Enoughness seems to me to be a far more useful way to achieve a pleasant soul and a healthy passage through life.

Saturday night, tucked up in my oversize grey fleece and in front of the fire, I watched La La Land for the first time. Why did none of you tell me??

Damnit.

I think Deep Adaptation is probably a useful mindset to put oneself in - any sort of adaptation, is better than none. I don’t think any of it helps much, not now and not in the future, but it might just lessen the surprise a little.

And I did it! I got the newsletter written before pig time. Forgive me if it’s sloppy, I am going to run to the snow piggies now and haven’t really checked it! Hugs all round

Your loving Pirate Ben

xoxo

(be excellent to each other!)