11. Garden beds

Working smarter, resourcefulness, evaluating progress

Sometimes it's difficult to see how hard you're working when you don't provide space for reflection.

Having a home garden is hard work, but there are ways to work smarter and make the most of the spaces you have with the use of garden beds. They raise your garden up, making things a little easier on your knees, help to keep critters out, allow you to control the soil content, reduce weeds and provide more growing space. It’s a much easier way of setting up your home garden, especially if you are a beginner who doesn’t have the know-how to tackle more challenging growing areas. Will it guarantee success? No, but it’s always a good idea to work smarter, not harder.

This card questions how productive you have actually been. Are you doing a lot of busy work but achieving very little? Are you taking extra steps or making simple mistakes that are easily avoided? Take a look at your progress to determine whether you are actually making any progress; you could be wasting your efforts on something that isn’t worth your investment. If you’re happy with where you are, consider how you can be more methodical in your approach. Now might be a good time to hire an assistant, implement a system to increase input or consider eliminating something so you can focus all your energy into something else.

Drawing this card can also mean you’re wasting a lot of time trying to learn skills when you could enroll in a class or work with someone who has the experience to help you cut through a steep learning curve.

It is no surprise that you work harder than you have to due to a hustle culture, trying to survive and pay the bills and having no space planned into your daily routine for self-reflection. Self-reflection should be integral to your life, whether you’re an entrepreneur, working a nine-to-five job or are a stay-at-home parent or guardian. Reflection allows you to see and pinpoint where you are overwhelming yourself and allows you to adjust and address those issues. You will need a mirror you can stand up or sit on a flat surface, although a handheld one will work fine.

In this practice the power comes from having a conversation with yourself, from communicating with yourself. Try to do this at the end of the day, as in this way you can review your day and adjust as needed for the next day. For example: 'This morning it took me so much time to write my newsletter. What caused this to take longer than anticipated? How can I be better prepared next time? What would help to have in place for a smoother, more efficient creation of my newsletter?' That is just an example, but you can honestly discuss anything in your day.