Honestly, no person is any busier then anyone else...EVERYONE gets 24 hours in a day, so really it is what you do with those hours that count. It sounds like simple psychobabble, but it really is not. If some 600 pound overweight guy wants to spend all day watching funny cat videos on RuKu living in the basement of their Mom, that is their choice, but obviously it is not as productive as a homesteader who chooses to build their own house and farms for the good of their family. Both however have 24 hours in a day. So make your hours count.
I chose to farm and built my home from scratch using everything I could from the farm here. How have I managed? In two ways.
I prioritize. You cannot do it all at once; no way, no how, and it only leads to burnout. So I started small, lived frugally, debt-free and slowly made things better.
My wife and I also chose ONE big
project per year and work on that so that we do not get burned out. One year it was clearing 12 acres of forest back into field, and another year it was building a 30 x 48 foot barn. This year it is building a gravel road and stopping erosion on a field. Onto their own they seem small, but over the last 22 years, they have added up to some really big changes, in particular the last 9 years.
I know it seems overwhelming today, but that is just because you are trying to rush to the end. Make living out the dream the pleasure, not the end result the pleasure. When I
think of clearing my next pasture and how much work it is going to take, I get down in the dumps, but when I realize I am out in the woods, on my own land, working for myself, doing what I want and when I want; I am living a dream only few
people realize in their lifetime. So live in the moment and try to find happiness there, not in a completed project.
As my neighbor once said, "It is amazing what people can accomplish in only a few years when someone takes an interest in agriculture." Farming is marked by long term investments in time; it is why it is different. Write down your
plans so when burnout comes, you could look back at all that has been accomplished and say, "jeesh we have come a long ways."
Best wishes towards your adventure...