The Grill

On a warm summer evening, I decided to really spruce up my back patio, by buying the cheapest grill I could find at Home Depot. The instructions said 50 minutes to assemble my new grill. Four hours later, sleepy but focused, I finished. I was frustrated by the process, but I learned some valuable lessons, that I hope come in handy for you as well.

Now that the grill is complete, I am thankful for the lessons learned. My marriage went through the propane fire, but in the end, I am better because of the endeavor.

Set up your environment for success

Where are you going to be comfortable, but focused? I initially decided to start the project on my patio, with my 2 year old and 6 month old still awake and in need of attention. Needless to say, once we put them down for the night and I moved the project out of the heat into a room where I had enough light to see, the project began to get some traction.

The right people in place makes a difference

Too many people around will just slow you down, but you also need to have the critical people in place to help you succeed. At one point putting together the grill, it became clear that I need a second person to hold the frame steady while I put the top of it on. I tried to go it alone, but ended up with a frankensteinesque grill, ready to fall apart with the first gust of wind. Once I asked my wife for help, the piece was easily attached and looked like how a cheap grill from Home Depot should look like.

Don’t get mad

Throughout the process I had the opportunity to get frustrated. At one point I had to completely take apart two hours of progress and start over. I was frustrated, but did that do anything to make the situation better? When my wife came to help, she said something that irritated me. If I had told her to leave, I would have never benefitted from her second set of eyes catching my mistakes a few minutes later.

Conclusion

If I had set up the right environment, had the right people in place, and kept myself calm throughout, I think that I could have hit the 50 minute mark that the grill's instructions said it would take. As I've said before and will say again, "Next time I'll know better."