On the day of her move, Mrs. Johnson discussed whether this was the best year for the move citing two reasons. She would never walk quickly again, and her husband had been plagued by back problems this year. Mr. Johnson handled much of the physical labor of the move, which was the first time the couple had ever experienced the selling of a home. He had been working hard on fixing up their house, lining kitchen cabinets with new shelf paper and a detailed list of projects to be completed before the move. Mr. Johnson kept a notebook specifically for his move, complete with sketches, lists, and telephone contacts. These lists were inventories of measurements of furniture in his office (see ), weekly tasks to prepare for his move (see ) and tasks to be completed, organized by room, to prepare for the sale of the house (see ). Some of these skills were recalled from his decades of organizing space as a professional, rather than experiences with moving, as this was he and his wife’s first home sale. Making the change this year assured that he had the organizational skills and logistical strength to handle the task. Thus, he could organize and supervise the move, while his children could do most of the heavy lifting. His ability to reapply competence was seen as time dependent as his health status may continue to change, which is why self-management for the future depended on a major life transition at a time chosen by the couple.