How do you measure progress?

Yesterday, I spent time working in my garage. At the first of the year, and pretty much when I started yesterday, it looked like this:

And by the time I was done, it looked like this:

Am I finished? Goodness no! But it’s progress. So let’s talk about that word progress. Who measures progress? You are the one who can and should measure your progress. That can be on your terms, in your own measurements. Does my progress mean that I got my entire garage cleaned out? No. But there’s places to walk in there. I brought in my plants from outside, because it’s below freezing outside. There are two old bikes that my girls have outgrown that need to go away. That pile that’s basically in the middle is stuff that needs to be gone through. Most of it will go away. Get rid of all of that and you’ve got a whole lot more space and organization. I got as much of the boxes in the recycling container, and as that gets emptied, I’ll add more boxes. So the progress keeps going. Slow, but steady.

So how do you measure progress? I think one of the most helpful things that you can do is to come up with a plan before you start. If you have an hour, or 30 minutes, or 15 minutes, make your plan. Focus on one area, then if you have time, go to the next. The most important parts to remember in making progress is that YOU are the one who determines your progress, and YOU are the one who measures your progress. Sure, you can (and should) enlist the help of others to help hold you accountable. But in the end, the responsibility lies with you. So, make a plan and get to it!

Speaking of plans, I’ve had to alter mine a bit, because while I was supposed to be working today, my wife was supposed to be working and my girls were supposed to be in school, we’re having an ice/freezing rain day. So, instead of trying to do more in the garage (once I do some work from home), I’m going to switch up my focus to inside, where it’s warm! I’ll share some of those results tomorrow.

What do you use your garage for?

A few days ago, we went to a friend’s house. As we pulled into the driveway, my youngest said, “They’re not home!” I had texted them 10 minutes before and I knew they were home. And she said, “But their car isn’t in the driveway!” Which got me thinking....

I can count the times we’ve put one car in the garage. It’s 5. All of them due to heavy rains/storms and vehicles that had issues with leaking in heavy rains. And it took a Herculean effort to make space for the car in. Normally, they are parked in the driveway. Why? Because of all the crap in our garage! We have the normal things like bikes, lawnmower, other lawn/yard tools. But we’ve got lots of disorganized stuff in the garage and things everywhere so that there isn’t space to park one, let alone two cars in the garage, using the garage for its’ designed purpose.

So how about you? Do you use your garage for the intended purpose? Could you do something different to be able to park your car or cars in the garage? What would need to change? How do you change it?

My whole point in looking at this is not to point fault. In my neighborhood, there are so many houses that don’t have cars parked in the garages. My point in this is to encourage you, as well as myself, to look at the space you have, and to ask if there’s a better way. There may be, or there may not be. In our garage, we have a chest freezer, as well as our washer and dryer. That limits our space. But it all depends on your situation. You may not have any issue with parking your cars in your garage. Awesome! I’ll have more on organization in the garage and the rest of the house soon enough! If not, you’ve got some things to consider and some work to do!