It’s incredibly easy to get lost in the sheer magnitude of what we’re about to undertake.  Every single step we inch towards our goal feels monumental.  Perhaps that can be attributed to too much time spent planning and not enough time spent doing, but that time will come soon.  It’s important to remember that progress can be measured in baby steps.  Yesterday we received confirmation that a rather significant baby step had been completed which will, in turn, trigger several more baby steps.  We received confirmation that our septic permit had been approved.

In our township, a land use permit cannot be issued without an approved septic permit.  Furthermore, we can’t even get an official 911 address without either a land use permit or a septic permit.  Therefore, obtaining the septic permit was a rather large baby step.  Not only is that hurdle complete, but it allows us to obtain our 911 address and submit our land use permit.  This is the epitome of efficient planning done correctly.  With my previous experience as the zoning administrator of a neighboring township, I have scoured our township’s zoning ordinance and I feel pretty confident that our land use permit will be approved without delay.  This should enable us to have all permits in hand the day that road restrictions are lifted.  This way, we won’t be wasting valuable time waiting for permits when we could be building.

As the days are starting to warm up, it’s important for me to keep in mind that March typically brings another round of snowstorms in our area.  In fact, we’re supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow this afternoon.  While that would normally frustrate me, the forecast also calls for temperatures as high as 50 in the next few days.  Eventually, the snow will all be gone, the ground will dry up, and we can begin construction.

We have two last subcontractors that we’re waiting on for estimates.  Once those are complete we can head to our banker to obtain our loan.  This way, we can pay our deposits and get on the schedule for getting our slab poured.  Once the slab has been poured I’m not waiting on any other subcontractor as I’ll be doing the bulk of the work from there out.  Thinking of the entirety of this project gives me anxiety as there are so many variables involved.  Again, I think that’s a symptom of too much time thinking and planning.  Once the doing begins, it should all go smoothly BECAUSE of the thinking and planning.  It’s also a great idea to break things down into baby steps that can be accomplished much quicker.  That way, you’re accomplishing goals and seeing progress.  By obtaining our approved septic permit we just accomplished a significant baby step which will lead us to more and more.

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