Power of the Plan

From Becky deciding on doing Jasmine ground cover in the front bed, I produced a plan consisting of a written plan and drawings. Given my state of development, creation of the plan took a great deal of effort and patience. Through the creation of this plan I learned in advance of the actual work that renovation of the curbside bed was a large undertaking. Renovation of the one bed spawned several side projects that would either consume or produce materials related to the bed. The idea is to make all the materials into assets, rather than waste. Then these newly minted assets, not used in the primary project, are applied to some other useful purpose, not merely piled up as dead dreams.
Knowing from the plan that I must also start and finish roughly four other projects gave me foresight to set up the various work areas;  the tools, the equipment with patience. I set a mental picture of the developed state of each area that I would affect to handle the material needs of the front bed. I had two quarries from which I took the broken concrete rocks. Ragged holes were left when the concrete chunks were pulled. Those areas had to be reclaimed. I had two quarries which produced crushed stone. I had two brick stockpiles which were removed. I took three large piles of dirt taken from the bed and put them in the back yard. All these areas required attention in order that they not look like perpetual construction sites. 
The written plan and the drawings of the specific construction phases keep me on track. I have worked three straight ten hour days to get the bulk of the improvements completed.Up to this point in all the gardening I have focused more on infrastructure than on living things. I have an abundance of rich, clean soil. Spreading that into barren areas and seeding it with grass is simple enough but it is a huge leap for me. The infrastructure is the framework for an orderly garden, but the garden is about life and growing. I takes time to develop. I went from being shy about planting anything, to having the sure knowledge of how to create a lawn. Now I know to keep a bag of the sun & shade grass seed handy. I got a large pile of rich top soil from this project which I can now employ for living things wherever a little life needs to be introduced. As I gain confidence I will get better.
The plan has power. I think it is similar to taking out a loan from a bank. An instrument is created in clear written terms. All details are spelled out. The loan document is agreed upon by all concerned parties. The capital is delivered and the installments are made until the loan is paid in full. The bank earns a profit for the risk it takes, and the borrower has financing for his purpose. The thing is a living relationship until the date of maturity. Once the loan is closed it begins to be some "thing".
The same is with a plan such as the one I made for renovating the big bed in front. It came to the point that the thing left to do was to actually get to work. Once I began I could only succeed or fail. The plan has power. By the plan I know I am not quite done with it yet, but I have earned a breather.