For gardens and farms, every stage of the cultivation cycle and all four seasons are important.  This holds true for people’s work and life generally, but we often over-focus on some stages of the cycle, and neglect others.  This quick checklist will help you see how you can use these cycles better.

 

In gardens, farms and forests, each stage of the cultivation cycle is important, and the same will often be true for your work and life generally. Most of us tend to focus too much on a few stages of this cycle, and neglect others. This checklist can also be helpful in looking at how a whole group approaches things, such as a work team or community organisation.

Give each item a rating form 0 – total neglect, through 5 – balance, to 10 – major overemphasis.

 

CYCLE STAGE

YOUR RATING

Ground preparation: planning, nurturing the starting phase
Seeding: using creativity
Weeding: learning through problems, maintaining clarity
Feeding: raising momentum by support, vision, and appreciation
Fun: enjoying, celebrating, enabling enthusiasm to produce results
Harvesting: bringing projects to completion, reaping full benefit for organisations and individuals
Review: drawing out the learning and appreciating people
Maintaining: preparing/renewing/pruning for future growth
Rest: yes, rest!

Use this checklist to appreciate the stages in the cycle which you or a group do well, and to highlight stages where you would benefit from more attention.