Setting Timelines & Changing Plans

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - Francis of Assisi

Setting a date to achieve goals is what we all do. I make a list in my diary to get certain things or enter a task in my calendar. The task list grows as I enter more tasks. Some tasks I get done on the date I set, some don’t. The number of tasks I miss getting done on the due date is longer than those I do get done.

The Plan

A few years earlier our plan was to live in a campervan for a time while exploring the country. We under-prepared for retirement big time. Camper-vanning appealed because the rent factor was removed, giving us an opportunity to save money. It also gave us a semblance of a retired life where easy as she goes was the motto by which we could live.

It made sense to me to live the nomad life in retirement. Our past decisions, or lack of them led us both to this point in our retirement years where it seemed the only option we had left. While living the nomad life I thought I could supplement our superannuation with an online income. I had bought a laptop the previous year, it was hardly used at all.

The Course

I started searching. In February 2024 I found an online course that appealed to me. The chap in the video made sense to me, speaking of the journey ahead, emphasising the course is not a “get rich quick” scheme. The values of which he spoke, is what convinced me to sign up.

Since signing up to this course life just accelerated. Every week is a pressure week. The days fly by. This happens because there is an extensive list of tasks, tasks I need to have happen every single day to achieve my goals.

The Experience

It was the desire of my companion to invest in a campervan and the life to go with it. Her camping and fishing experiences in her youth with family were always remembered with fondness. In 2006 for two weeks, we toured the South Island of New Zealand in the heat of summer. We hired a rental car for the trip. It was a magnificent experience. For me, the beauty of the South Island stood out because it was summer. People say the real beauty of the South Island is found in winter in a place like Queenstown. I can understand their view but travelling in summer is what I prefer. In a campervan it would be even better. 

The Discussion

Many discussions happened from time to time after I found the online course. The course involved time, a lot of time and investment. To me the best place for the time and investment to happen was right where we are. No camper-vanning until the course was done. My companion was not happy with the change of plans, to delay until after the completion of study.

Tasks

I intended to write on completing tasks by a time you choose from the point of view that the world will not end if you miss your deadline. Instead, it morphed into how plans can change, and why they change. Watch for a future blog on tasks and my journey to online income.