How To Set Homestead Goals
2. Buy at least 4 cows, (two for milking, two for beef).
3. Build two chicken coops, a duck pond, a new barn.
4. Save all the seeds and put-up enough food for to last the next 40 years, you know, incase the zombies come.
1. Sell all the goats.
2. Drop down to a dozen chickens.
3. Shrink the garden.
4. Why do I own dairy cows?
5. Take a nap.
6. Drink moonshine
Now that I’m going on almost two decades of this homestead gig, I’ve gotten fairy proficient in setting yearly homestead goals, as long as I play by these rules.
6 Simple Rules For Setting Homestead Goals
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Rule #1: Set short term and long term goals.
Not everything, especially in homesteading, needs to be done the first year. That will put you on a fast track for burnout. I know. I’ve been there, twice. I now keep three white boards in my office. One is a list of my long term goals for the year, listed by priority. The other is my goals broken down over the next three months. The last is a calendar with the goal(s) pinned on a specific start date. This keeps me organized and on schedule and most importantly, not overwhelmed.
Rule #2: Set goals that motivate you
When setting your goals you need to analyze them. What does the goal mean to you and what does it mean to your family? What does this goal bring to your homestead? Start with the goals that are the highest on your list, make them a priority.
Rule #3: Set goals that are attainable.
You can’t do it all overnight and you certainly can’t do it all in one year. So don’t burn yourself out trying. Start slow, start small. Go through the list of goals, pick the top priorities, educate and execute them.
Rule #4: Be specific in your goal.
While “get chickens” sounds like a complete goal, there are other aspects of that you should analyze. What kind of chickens? Meat chickens or laying chickens? How many chickens, 12 or 100 chickens? Where are the chickens going to live? What’s the purpose of the chickens? Scratch up the compost pile? Feed your family or feed a farmers market? You will want to choose a breed of chickens depending on each of those specifications. Believe me, this will solve a lot of impulse chicken buying!
Rule #5. Build A Realistic Timeline.
Set a timeline of your goals. Pick and prioritize your goals based on the above rules and choose an appropriate timeline for each of them. Rome wasn’t built in a day Y’all, either will your homestead. Unless you got some mad bank to drop down for a barn, new well, a herd of cattle and farm store, then just slow your horse down cowboy.
Rule #6: Write Them Down
Yes, I mean physically write out each and every goal you want to see come into fruition on your homestead. Once you have written them down and prioritized them, tape them up where you see them often, if not daily. This will help keep you accountable and focusing on the end result, instead of the mental list of all the things to do. Once your goal is complete, cross it off. It feels good and that feeling is contagious. It’s like a gold star chart for adults.
Setting goals on the Homestead can be quite daunting and overwhelming, to say the least. Using the steps above will not only help you complete your goals in a timely manner but also help avoid the dreaded homestead burn out. Cheers!
My favorite homesteading learning books.
