Make hay while the sun shines
... and other ways to consider efficiency.
This week, I’ve been making hay while the sun’s been shining or, more accurately, painting my guest room and my office while these spaces are completely empty, awaiting the installation of new flooring.
Funny expression, isn’t it. Making hay while the sun shines. It isn’t just an instruction about storing grain. True, you never want to pack hay when it’s wet, as it will mould and then what will your livestock have to munch on come winter? It’s really a colloquial way of saying to strike when the iron is hot or basically to make life easier for yourself by making things happen when conditions are right.
The sun is shining, metaphorically and actually right now. True, I have absolutely no time, money, or energy for yet another layer of project. It’s enough to be packing up HALF MY HOUSE in the name of putting down new floors upstairs (Background: When we moved in nearly ten years ago, we had the lowest possible grade of carpet and underlay. We assured ourselves we’d upgrade in a few years. You can only imagine how woeful it looks and feels now. And given that Clover the dog is allergic to dust mites, once we committed to making the change, we were highly motivated to avoid carpet). I didn’t have the slightest notion of painting a week ago but the rooms are empty. It doesn’t matter how much I drip on the floor. I can knock out two coats in about five hours. It’s time to make hay.
So much of freelancing is about making hay. I once heard a freelance writer use the expression ‘to park downhill’ at the end of each day so when you started your work anew the next morning, everything was primed for an easier start. In the case of writing, it means things like opening a file you’ll be working on the next morning or taking a minute to outline three relevant points of your writing project. Come tomorrow, it’s a little bit easier to get going. In truth, we are really an entire industry of hay makers. Sending two pitches at a time to an editor is making hay. So is guilelessly hoping on board a trend to push a story that’s otherwise hard to place (you won’t believe the number of stories I’ll connect with made-for-TV holiday movies each December). Turning a ten second conference intro into a relationship? Hay, hay, hay. We have to strike when the sun is shining and the grain is ripe.
However, what haymakers (and bedroom painters!) can tell you is that while it makes good sense to cut hay when the sun is shining, it’s still REALLY hard work. If you don’t believe, go cut down your front lawn with a steak knife in the blazing sun! It can feel fake, even mercenary, to jump on board with a trend. It can be exhausting to generate a second story when you’re barely pulling together pitch number one. So give yourself a little grace.
Interestingly, I’ve heard a different interpretation of this expression, one in which a person who makes hay when the sun shines is someone who only works when the conditions are ideal, perhaps someone who only shows up for the most visible component of the work but never does any of the behind-the-scenes prep. In other words, they’re lazy. According to Google, this isn’t really a thing, but it’s interesting food for thought. How would this apply to freelancing? Are we guilty of procrastinating, only willing to take a big risk when we judge conditions to be ideal? Are we eager to find any excuse to avoid sending a pitch, revamping our portfolio, or pursuing a tough interview?
I’m about to add a third coat to my office walls and I’m exhausted. Making hay is no joke. Yet I’m thrilled with the overall results of what I’ve nicknamed Project Ridiculous. Sometimes the answer to chaos is to add even more chaos. My space looks clean and fresh; clearly, this was the time to tackle this job. Now the question is what else can I tackle at this auspicious time - writing, planning, thinking - while the proverbial sun still shines.