Put up the shelves

Welcome to the new year! I hope everyone had a chance to rest and relax over the holidays with family and friends.

For me, this past December marked the first in a new house. We did all the heavy lifting earlier in the year, getting the painting out of the way and most everything moved in. There were just a few projects that still needed to be done, we thought. I started a to-do list (I’m a big believer in using them to manage tasks), but I just got too busy to take care of everything. Once I got into my weekly routines, it was hard to find the time to take any of these lingering projects on.

Take a minute to find whatever your uninstalled shelf is and take care of it.

But the holidays gave me plenty of reasons to get moving. With friends and family coming to visit for the first time over those couple weeks, I knew there was no better time than the present. We had a little bit of downtime after the 2022 Irrigation Show and Education Week in Las Vegas, and it turns out it was the perfect combination of pressure and time I needed to finish those jobs. Instead of just taking the time off, I was able to have the house ready for visitors. What’re a few afternoons putting up shelves and fixing some tricky plumbing?

The agriculture industry has a similar slower time built into its annual routine, as harvests finish and colder weather approaches. While it’s important to take some time off, especially in such a demanding field, this is the perfect opportunity to take stock of those small jobs that need done so you can head into the new season feeling more prepared. That could mean regular system maintenance that’s been put off or a pass over some of the collected irrigation data from the past season to see what can be improved in the next round. It might just mean taking a minute to connect with colleagues or distributors to rebuild relationships. Take a minute to find whatever your uninstalled shelf is and take care of it.

It was great to catch up with colleagues and other industry professionals at the show at the start of December. I always learn so much from getting the chance to talk one-on-one with readers about their work and obstacles. If you’ve ever got an idea for our coverage, please feel free to reach out to me anytime.

Irrigation Today Editor-in-Chief