Anyone who homesteads knows that it’s no easy feat to fit all the necessary tasks into a 12-hour day—not to mention 8 hours. And if you’re a single woman homesteader juggling family responsibilities and one (or two) jobs outside of your farm duties, things can quickly get hectic.

The good news is that you can take steps toward making your routine more efficient, which will give you more time to enjoy your farm, family, and the fruits of your labor. Let’s take a look!

Step 1: Stick to a Routine

One of the most peaceful times I experience each day is watching the chickens while my daughter collects the eggs. Even weeding can be peaceful, giving me time to be quiet and listen to the birds as I comb through the beds for sprouts that don’t belong among the vegetables.

One of the greatest values of setting a routine—doing certain tasks at the same time each day, in roughly the same way—is that it makes your tasks quicker and easier because you don’t have to think as hard about what you’re doing. Your brain actually gets a bit of a break when you clean the barn, feed the horse, check the water trough, and restock the hay feeder in the same order every morning and evening. And you can move more quickly through the routine because you don’t have to think about what to do next, or whether you forgot one of the tasks you were supposed to do.

For us single women homesteaders, routines are truly a lifesaver when every hour of the day holds several tasks waiting to be done. While there are some days that I vary my tasks, the majority of the time I follow the same routine. That’s one of the beautiful things about farm life: the predictability of the chores each day. They lend a calmness and level of comfort to a life that can otherwise feel overwhelming and chaotic.

Step 2: Don’t Procrastinate

It’s so easy to put off doing tasks that are large, time-consuming, new, or unfamiliar. They disrupt the flow of our day, and with a new or unfamiliar task, we often don’t know how much time will be required until we start the project (but it’s invariably more time than we budgeted)!

Getting that big job done as soon as possible will help streamline your farm life by clearing out the large tasks so you can get back to your normal routine. And I don’t know about you, but new tasks usually end up being a bit easier than I anticipated. Breaking through the procrastination and simply starting the task can often be the biggest hurdle. Which brings us to the next tip!

Step 3: Finish What You Start

One of my favorite hobbies is quilting. Not that I have much time for it these days, but getting back to it is on my to-do list! Quilters often use the acronym “UFO” to refer to UnFinished Objects. We’re known for starting ten quilts before finishing the first one! I think that’s a common practice among homesteaders too. We can get so excited about starting something new that we end up starting several things before finishing anything.

Research shows that pending tasks (a.k.a. unfinished projects) cause low-level stress. It makes sense: every time you walk by that half-finished bird feeder or partly-painted wall, you think, “I need to get that project wrapped up.” Or it becomes a nagging thought that takes up brain space you could be using for other things.

There’s definitely a sense of accomplishment that comes from finishing a project, as well as the practical aspect of being able to use whatever it is you built or otherwise created.

Step 4: Outsource When Needed

Homesteaders can put undue pressure on themselves to do it all. I love producing as much as possible on my farm, but there are tasks that it’s just easier and faster to outsource. After all, the homestead should be a place we get to enjoy from time to time, not just a place we live and work from sunup to sundown, never taking a minute to raise our head and enjoy the view.

So think about the tasks that you don’t enjoy, don’t have the best equipment for, or simply spend too much time on. Which jobs can you hire someone to help with? High schoolers, neighbors, and friends may be willing to take on jobs for a reasonable rate or in exchange for something (such as produce from your garden, canned goods, or services like cleaning or sewing).

The biggest job that I outsource is mowing, as I don’t currently have a tractor and mowing three acres of grass (not to mention weed eating the fencelines) would take me hours each week. Hours that I would rather spend with my daughter, harvesting and processing produce, cooking, and enjoying a meal together. So to me, it’s worth several hundred dollars a month to have someone mow and weed eat. I also have my hay delivered, whereas I used to pick it up myself and unload it in the barn. That’s one big job – both in effort and time! I now choose to spend a little more for delivery, and save a lot in time.

The tasks you choose to outsource may look completely different. Maybe you love to mow but can’t stand cleaning house. Could you hire someone to do that job every week or twice a month? Some people (yes, even homesteaders!) don’t love to cook. Maybe you get takeout once a week or more to give you more time for other jobs that you enjoy.

Outsourcing looks different for everyone, and it’s worth examining each task on your homestead to see if there any it makes sense to hand over to someone else.

Step 5: Don’t Let Perfect Get in the Way of Good

My editor taught me this very important lesson, and it’s something I try to remember often when writing and when doing jobs around the farm. Completion is the goal for most tasks, and honestly, it’s usually enough to do an “adequate” job rather than aiming for flawless execution.

The chicken coop will get dirty the moment you clean it, the grass will begin to grow the day you cut it, and new weeds will start popping their heads through the soil as soon as you tidy the garden bed. Those jobs still have to be done, but moving through them efficiently and doing an “adequate” job is more realistic than expecting perfection from yourself.

I hope you’ve found these steps helpful as you think about how to best run your own homestead while still enjoying it and the ones you care about. If you’ve found other ways to streamline your routine, please share in the comments below!