The days of the Very Ambitious Plan (VAP) seemed like they were past. Then, I got to January and realized I might need some sort of a VAP in my day to day efforts.
What is a VAP?
The Very Ambitious Plan (VAP) had its origins at the Genuine Faux Farm as a daily 'to do' list that was necessary if we wanted to manage our farm and all of its moving parts. We made our first blog reference to VAPs in 2016, when we discussed them and even suggested some VAP statistics that we could use (but didn't - look... it was all in fun, ok?!). We had a bit more fun with another blog post titled VAP Revisited that just took us even further down the “silly road.”
Regardless of how much fun we had with those posts, the VAP has been an extremely important tool for the Genuine Faux Farm. It was a good way for me, in particular, to organize my thoughts as to how I would utilize precious resources - the most precious of which was time.
I still recall conversations with Denis (who worked on the farm several summers) about some of the challenges that came the farm’s way. He recognized that each day is filled with decision-points on a small-scale, diversified farm. And, some of those situations can have significant ramifications for the farm. He let me know that he was aware that there was a plan behind the decisions we made and our reactions to unplanned events.
Well, Denis, I owe a great deal of that to the creation of a daily VAP. The time I took to put it down on paper helped me get things straight in my head so I had a prayer of getting through each day.
But What If We're Unambitious?
I have certainly considered making a VUP (Very Unambitious Plan), but when I want to make a VUP, I usually don't have the motivation to do it (get it? Huh huh?!?).
Anyway, the very nature of list-making tends to lead some people to be more ambitious and others towards less ambition as they get overwhelmed. Why? Well, I tend to think it’s because the Law of Expanding Lists takes over and the VAP just keeps getting bigger and bigger. This can either fire you up to get as much as you can done or it buries you with expectations.
Tammy and I both know where each of us lands on lists. Tammy dislikes creating lists - finding them stressful. This is especially true if we make a list with a long view. To her, it only feels like a list of things to be disappointed about because we won't get to them.
On the other hand, I find creating these lists useful as they help my brain focus on prioritizing and finding critical time lines. And, as the “farm manager,” it is important that I have a good handle on the big picture of “things to be done” on the farm. I know its time to make a list when I feel the paralysis creeping in that comes with being overwhelmed trying to figure out what's next.
Between the two of us, we work for a middle ground that hopefully avoids my paralysis and Tammy’s disappointment. So, the VAPs were typically more for me than Tammy.
Most of our workers, including Tammy, have preferred nice 'check-off' list of things to do today or this week. It’s ok if the list is a little bit too long so there’s some challenge. But, it has to be doable. And, believe it or not, I can do a pretty good job of a nice check list taht doesn’t get too ambitious when it’s for other people. I guess I have a nice streak in me that doesn’t want to share the torture of the true list (the VAP) that’s behind the check list.
Many who have worked at the farm have taken an inordinate amount of delight in checking things off these lists - and it is a real cause for celebration when all of the items reach completion!
But, What If It Doesn't Work?
I realize that January is not my best month when it comes to motivation and keeping myself on task. In high school, college, and prior to working at the farm, I was pretty faithful with my ability to catch some sort of cold or flu that made matters worse. It's just a cycle I often go through and I have my strategies for dealing with it. This year, I haven’t had to deal with the illness, but I still sometimes fight the motivation issue.
The question is - will the return of the VAP become one of those strategies this year as I go through this January and February? When I wrote the first draft of this blog in January of 2021, I was motivated to return to the VAP because it was my first winter working for Pesticide Action Network. This year is different. But what year isn’t?
The VAP’s return met with very mixed success in 2021. Not surprisingly (to me) the days it worked the best were those where the list was more farm oriented AND where there was more active 'doing.' I had much less success getting myself to accept that VAPs are also good for office work.
In the end, I gave up on the VAP (but not list-making) because it wasn’t quite working. I did not have the same urgency to VAP when it wasn’t farm-centric. But, then I found myself NOT VAPping for the farm and that led to some struggles. So, the compromise was the creation of a weekly VAP (a WVAP?!?).
And here we are once again, considering reviving the VAP. I’ve now used it for a couple of weeks and I have to admit that it works - as long as I do it. It’s just gotten too easy to pretend I already know what’s on the list and dash off to do things.
So, we'll give it the ol' college try and see what happens. Worst case scenario - I'll give up making the VAP at the start of the day. Instead, I’ll write things down as I accomplish them so I can then check them off. Or, better yet, I'll start making lists that break each task down into smaller actions so I get to check MORE things off.
Climb stairs of the house
Walk down the hall
Enter the office
Sit in desk chair
Turn on computer
Wait for computer to start
Hum a tune while waiting
Connect to internet
Load up blog web page
Scratch head and wonder what to write
Start writing
No, never mind, try another topic
Another false start
Write blog
Upload pictures to blog
Proofread
Schedule blog to publish next morning
Stretch a little
Look at list for next thing...
Ups! Nothing more there. I must be done for the day.
Good work me!
Have a great day everyone!
This post is a strongly updated version of a post that originally appeared on January 15, 2021.
I have found a real key to happiness as an old retired guy is to greatly lower my expectations, and to keep my "to do" lists short. Some days making a good pot of coffee seems worthy of a "Well done!" and a pat on the back.
OMG LOL "Vapping" (as opposed to more commonly used "vaping") - love your innovative use of language! English is excellent in turning nouns into verbs, isn't it?
Creating the VAP list itself could be the first item on the list, which you get to check off right after the list is created.
The pic of your door -list is amazing. Takes list-making to a new level!