Back a few years we were getting ready to put a retaining wall in.
So needed to move our clothes line.
It was old, huge, and heavy… one of those steel spinning around ones.
Great fun as kids to leap up, grab on and spin like crazy until your arms gave way.
We had a new retaining wall to put in. So the clothes line had to go.
Now… I’ve removed a couple of these spinning types before. So didn’t expect it to be much trouble.
First, I dug down to the concrete. And then got all sorts of leverage going on to get it out.
Thing is… it wouldn’t budge an inch.
🤔
Dug some more. A bit wider. And a lot deeper.
It was then I hit the second massive chunk of concrete that was gripping the base of the central pole.
Never seen that before.
Whoever put this in was expecting greater than hurricane-force winds or something.
With plenty of grunting and groaning and a mighty heave-ho… finally got the bloody thing out 💪
The way was now clear to get the retaining wall done.
Except… our retaining wall is STILL not done.
(Bit of a long story there. Short version is: contractors let us down.)
So we were now clothes line-less. And needed somewhere for our clothes to dry.
Not wanting to let my ancestors down — who lived and died by the “Number 8 wire” principle (translation: got creative with whatever they had on hand)…
In a short time we had two runs of a long nylon rope strung up as a temporary line.
One end anchored to a frame that has a climbing rose clinging to it.
At the other end… the steel A-frame from an old childrens’ swing.
It works.
Lines are tight. Clothes are easy to hang up. Plenty of sunlight and airflow.
And… of course…
This “temporary fix” is still there 3 years later.
The moral of this story?
Well… it’s certainly not so you can feel smug that you have a better track record than Chris at getting temporary fixes tidied up! 😆
The point is…
Sometimes the “temporary fix” is just the thing you need.
The flashy, bigger, better thing would have worked for sure. But the extra time, money, and energy cost wasn’t needed.
It looks like the Pareto principle is at play once again. Otherwise known as the 80/20 rule: Roughly 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort.
The same kind of thing can play out in your freelancing business.
You see…
It’s a good practice to ask yourself… especially when a shiny, grass-is-greener option comes your way…
“Is what I’ve got just fine?”
Or if something needs replacing — like my washing line — will the temporary fix work fine for now?
Sure… if you’ve got the luxury of time and extra financial resources…
AND it will actually move your business forward by making you more efficient or saving costs in other ways…
Then maybe an upgrade is in order.
I mean… one day — when that retaining wall is done — we’ll get a “proper” clothes line put back in.
But if you’re not making bank as a freelancer, well…
No amount of procrastination by fixing things — that aren’t even helping with your business cashflow — is going to help.
For now, there’s more important things to focus on.
When that time arrives… maybe it’s already here… and your business needs a website, email marketing, or some handy marketing automation… systeme.io has you covered.
I use it. Love it. Rave about it. And share it.
There’s a free-forever account waiting for you here at my affiliate link:
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Don’t sweat the petty things & don’t pet the
sweaty things,
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Chris Milham