Prioritise

We are looking at getting our shed insulated and air conditioned.  There are a couple of trades to be engaged.  Insulator, plasterer, and electrician.  We have needed to work out the priority.  We will probably engage an electrician first so he can do the necessary wiring before the insulation and plastering happens.  Putting the electrician last would mean pulling up the work of the plasterer.
We are also looking at getting a car port down the back.  We have used two gazebo’s and two plastic car covers.  Both deteriorated.  The gazebo in particular was not made to be a permanent structure.  It faded and the birds seemed to take great delight in seeing how many holes they could make in it with their beaks. 
I will need to prioritize the moving of pot plants and paint tins in the area.  Then the artificial grass will have to be moved.  We have bought the structural materials.  That was the first priority.  The last will be purchasing tiles.  I’m hoping to get ones 40 x 40.  I have the 60 x 60 ones and they more than what I want to handle.  Sure there is less of them but they involve more work.
I was thinking about priorities today and a definition I found that I like says “the fact or condition of being regarded or treated as more important.”  All the tasks needing doing need prioritizing.  It is not that one is more important than the other, but the order is.
At work I needed to set priorities.  What the boss asked was always number one.  But when nothing special was required, I had to prioritize my tasks.  The change of months was always a big time for me working in finance.  It was at those times we could get a picture of what was happening.
I have done the prioritizing thing with my life.  I worked out what is most important to me.  My number one priority.  From that foundation I set a course.  Once I determine what was the most important and do it, then for all else one thing is not necessarily more important than the other, but the order is.
Being retired has taken a bit of getting used to.  Like never before I have needed to set my own priorities.  Actually, I do not need to.  I can drift.  Five years is still five years whether I drift or knuckle down.  I choose to prioritize.
What I regret most is missed opportunities.  I could have bought a home in railway estate in Townsville for $25,000 with $10,000 up front and the rest paid off as rent.  The bank would not lend me the money.  If I had my time again, I would make it happen.  Railway Estate is the place to be in Townsville now.  I made other decisions which if I had my time again I would do differently. 
But I cannot bring back the past.  I can only get my priorities right now.  I’m giving it my best shot.