Living on the farm has been slowly but surely changing my attitude towards projects and priorities. Paradoxically, I've got more to do than ever before, but I'm much less stressed about it.
The past several years, before moving here, I was on the consulting treadmill. I only had two or three projects running at a time, but each of them had firm deadlines and potentially angry clients. Whatever needed to be done to meet deadlines simply needed to be done, no matter the cost in lost sleep or postponed personal pleasure.
Now, the projects are smaller but there are a lot more of them. Take painting, for example. I don't believe we'll ever be finished painting. By the time we paint the root cellar, chicken coop, stable, barn, garage and house, it'll be time to start all over again. Other farm tasks are similarly endless: weeding, raising animals, running and fixing fences, landscaping, cleaning up.
Faced with a pile of work that will simply never get done (and that's not even counting my various writing and programming commitments) I find that I can relax and accept the fact that there's always more to do. Today I did some weeding and fixed a fence and washed some dishes. Tomorrow I'll do something else. The next day, something else again. Regardless of what does or doesn't get done, I'll see progress, we'll keep eating, and there's time enough to relax with the animals.
This life isn't for everyone, but it's sure as hell working out well for me.