Previous: Race issues, 3

On the other hand, counter to the other three posts, maybe some things should go a little faster. For example, this below:

I think I dug the first hole for this retaining wall project in November, then something something, and then the yard was mostly done but for a pile of dirt in the corner, waiting to see where it would go. It was the remnants of some top soil that I had delivered earlier in the summer because everything else in this backyard is clay, and is horrible. The question was: where did I need to move the dirt? Did it need to fill in some spots behind the wall for planting? Some did. Did it need to move and fill in some holes or low spots on the slopes? Not really. Was it ready to be pushed over and flattened out?

The answer to that last question was: yes. The final purpose of the dirt was always to make the yard flat. But I waited. And waited. And waited. And found other things to do (that tomato jungle in the background didn't build itself). And waited. And deferred with a thousand what-ifs.

It wasn't a sensible delay. It wasn't helpful. The dirt sat there, except when it washed away. Some of the weeds had taken on an aggressive and downright surly aspect. And where I thought I might move some of the dirt, just slightly out of view to the left—actually, I moved dirt (clay) from there to the dirt pile.

The microwaiting was the strangest aspect of delaying. Once I finally committed to flattening out the dirt today, there were still the moments that I'd just... stare at the pile. Or walk back and forth between the pile and some other small project. Or just generally not finish the thing.

Waiting was just waiting. Waiting was a refusal to finish. When you know what the final approach looks like from here to there, and you've got the time and energy—do it. Ship it. It's flat now (flattish, needs some detail work) and ready to go.