Operating a biodiverse microfarm is a long-term endeavor filled with dreams, aspirations, financial goals, farming goals and propelled by a great need for accomplishment. Whether this may be on the farm or in your personal life, the actualization of your projects won’t happen by chance. If you want change to happen, you have to make change happen. The most powerful tool to help you reach your dreams is to develop an action plan to help get you where you want to be. Here are five easy steps to help you stay on track and achieve your farming goals.
1 – Set Your Farming Goals
Everything starts with intention, and taking the time to sit down to reflect on what you’d like to manifest is the first and most crucial step. I recommend getting a yearly journal specifically for your goals and achievements. Do it on paper and begin by writing down all the things you want to accomplish, whether in your personal life or business. What do you want to accomplish? What farm projects do you want to complete? How do you want to feel this year? How do you want the farm to improve? List everything that comes up so that you can see your new life on paper.
2 – Set Time Limits
This is a very important piece. Define a time when you would like your goal to be accomplished by giving yourself a “due date.” It’s important to give yourself a reasonable amount of time to reach your goals, but if you don’t set a deadline for yourself, nothing will happen. To achieve your farming goals, and all the other goals in your life, you must empower yourself to be accountable and take the necessary actions to get there.
3 – Find Support
It is also important to remember that you cannot do it all on your own, remind yourself of that. All too often, we fail at achieving things because we rely only on ourselves. Asking for help is a skill that we all need to develop. Especially us stubborn, independently-minded farmers. Your friends, co-workers, loved ones, and your community are here to support you. Allow them to be there for you and help you get through the rough patches, brainstorm sessions, achieve your farming goals, and to celebrate your accomplishments. You are never alone. The Market Gardener Community is also here to help and will serve this purpose.
4 – Hold Yourself Accountable
Ensure that you go back to your journal every week and gauge where you are at with your desired goal. What steps have you completed to reach it? What is missing? What did you need to do but not get around to? What stopped you from pushing forward? Journal it all so that you can see where things need some extra love and attention. Revisiting your goals frequently will keep them alive in your mind and will help manifest your action plans.
Aspiration = Goals X Action Plan X Efforts
If things aren’t developing the way you want, don’t be hard on yourself, and don’t get discouraged. Things take time to manifest, and it’s a process. Have faith and be honest about what’s happening. Remember not to inflict judgment on yourself. Stay hopeful that life is by your side and good things are ahead of you. This being said, be realistic about the commitment YOU need to invest. The bigger the change, the bigger the EFFORT. Remember that pain is part of the process, so don’t get discouraged if this is not easy. It’s not supposed to be.
5 – Celebrate Your Successes
It’s easy to get caught up in what we have not completed and forget to celebrate what we have. This is an oh-so-very important step to achieve your farming goals. You need to celebrate your accomplishments and your achievements. No matter how big or small, mark them in your journal and share them with friends and family to inspire them to push forward in pursuit of their own goals and dreams.
Turn Your Dreams into Reality
If you’re dreaming of starting a biointensive small-scale farm, we’ve put together an Introduction to market gardening course specifically designed to give you the basics of how to do it. If you are ready to start your own market garden and are looking for more advanced information, join the Market Gardener Masterclass. The Masterclass is an online course that teaches the most effective and proven techniques to successfully operate a diversified small-scale farm. They will guarantee you consistent results, as well as help you make the most of your valuable time and keep your body in shape for years to come.
