
I don't care about conservation, I care about the richness of life.
I don't care about domestic violence, I care about family.
I don't care about police, I care about trust.
`


Nature's Value in the Marketplace: Australia's New Conservation Program and the Complexities of Biodiversity Markets

Sustainable farming wont save biodiversity


I recently had a frustrating week in which some of my short comings were painfully exposed. I would like to think I have learnt something. So here it goes.

**tl;dr**
Even though the finishing phase is painful, seeing projects through to completion is important if they are to persist into the long term. Otherwise, you are essentially borrowing from the future, and may have to repay the debt (with interest) when not convenient. 

## The pain
It all started when I got to a stopping point when I was working on [libraryofnature.com](libraryofnature.com). I had promised that I would do some neglected jobs around the house and yard. Fix up some dodgy wiring on some solar panels. Cover up the AC gas pipes. Build a deck covering for rain and UV protection. 

It started out well enough. I fixed up some of the long standing bits of maintenance that had perhaps been sitting there for well over a year. The realisation of the extent of this time frame did disappoint me somewhat but I made it through. 

When it came to the AC unit, I became further disappointed at how I had left things. I won't detail the list of half baked patch jobs here, but it was becoming apparent that I had a certain weakness when it came to polishing off the handyman jobs I had commenced. 

When working on new projects, I frequently justify to myself that I will come back to finish off the job once we are satisfied that it is, indeed, what we want, after some trial period. Alas, the fateful day of completion rarely arrives. 

The excitement of learning something new motivates me to get something done until it is "working" but not finished. I then lose interest in the job as the polishing and finishing touches involve little of conceptual exertion that I find most engaging. 

Once I moved onto planning the deck, things started to get more uncomfortable. I found myself becoming increasingly anxious by the scale of the project and my lack of expertise. After flip flopping on a few design ideas, I made a decision, sketch out the plan, and was resolute on purchasing the order the next day. At the hardware store, it quickly became apparent to the staff that I didn't know what I was doing. They politely suggested that I get a builder or carpenter to look at the plans to suggest some better ways to handle the load which I had placed on the roof. 

The short story is that we ended up getting a carpenter around to our place, who pointed out that it would indeed be a large job, and that we may want to consider planning our all the other things we would want (with and architect/planner) and build them in a staged approach. 

I became nervous about the prospect of someone seeing my collection of unfinished projects. I still haven't completely gotten to the bottom of this feeling. It probably relates to my need to be able to trust others. It may also have something to do with my uneasiness with losing control of the situation. In any case, things got worse when our inverter died and we had to switch to our back up solar system. 

## Rethinking The 80:20 rule
I have always been a strong believer in the 80:20 rule which goes something like: "It takes 20 percent of the effort to make 80 percent of the progress." The corollary of this is "After getting a job to 80%, it will take another 4 times as long to finish it". Whether or not these numbers are precise is besides the point. 

I think what doesn't get mentioned in this knowledge nugget is that getting things to 80% completion is rarely a robust long-term strategy. You are essentially borrowing from the future. And when that time comes, where you need to pay the debt, you make not have cash on you. So I think it needs to be said, that if something is going to be there into the future, it is best to pay that debt as soon as you can. 

## Jack of all trades master of none
I am increasingly less comfortable with being a "Jack of all trades". I think the main cause is that it is becoming less fun so I lack the enthusiasm to even be a "Bob of all trades". I am finding that mastery of a skill is more rewarding. I had always accepted that I would not be the best in my field because my interests were too diverse. I think I also told myself that being a generalist is a kind of specialisation. 

As I was cleaning my shed I began to feel calmer as I noticed the chaos take on more order. At some point I had forgotten that it is important to get your house in order before you take on the world. 




Rethinking the 80:20 rule


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This new content should be a great thing to take notice off. I shoudl make sure that I dont increase the burden of writing these posts do not become an onerous task. we need to fing a balance between them being fun and something that others may be able to find some value in. It is not 

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Draft Posts

Nature's Value in the Marketplace: Australia's New Conservation Program and the Complexities of Biodiversity Markets

Read more

Sustainable farming wont save biodiversity

Read more

Rethinking the 80:20 rule

Read more

Data visualisation with visx

Read more