This past weekend, I went out to my Apopka rental with a clear objective: put in at least 20 hours of real work and make measurable progress. There were a handful of things I had been putting off, and this was my opportunity to close those loops.
The main focus was the upstairs door. It has been sitting unfinished since the last time I worked on it with my friend. Nothing major was left, just the kind of small tasks that are easy to delay but still need to get done. Painting was one of them. I actually went out previously with the intention to paint it, only to realize I had brought interior paint. That mistake delayed everything.
Coming back to it now, time had already started to take its toll. The wood was beginning to show small cracks. I sealed those up first, then went ahead and painted over it properly. There were also alignment issues where parts of the wood did not sit flush with the rest of the door jamb. I used wood putty to shape and smooth those areas so everything blends together more cleanly. It is not fully complete yet, but it is close. I will be back on Wednesday to finish it.
Outside of the door, I handled a few other tasks that had been sitting on my list for too long. I cleaned up the backyard and got rid of leftover trash from previous tenants. I replaced the A/C filter and cleared the lines to keep everything running efficiently. I also spent some time working on the balcony to make it look a little more presentable. Nothing major, just incremental improvements that raise the overall standard of the property.
On the systems side, I started building out Excel templates and worksheets to track different aspects of the business. The goal is to get more organized and create something I can rely on week to week instead of keeping everything in my head.
I also began experimenting more with AI tools. I have been using Claude more frequently, and I like it a lot, especially for generating Excel documents and structured outputs. At the same time, I started a ChatGPT subscription. From everything I have seen and read, it seems to function more like a Swiss Army knife. Different strengths, different use cases. Right now, I am using both and figuring out where each one fits best in my workflow.
Overall, the weekend was productive. Nothing flashy, but steady progress across the board. These are the kinds of weekends that compound over time.