Sometimes the only way to get anything done is to do a little bit at a time. It is too big a step to say you are going to write a book. You have to take little baby steps in order to do it. Sometimes the baby step is simply writing one thing a day. Sometimes you can’t even get that far and your baby step is simply jotting down a few notes every day. Do whatever it is that you have to do break it up into little steps, but keep on working towards your goal.
Sometimes it is overwhelming to think of all the little parts of a project but if you can break it up into little parts it makes the project doable. Not too long ago, I was working on an art project using stamps and fortune cookie slips. Just making one or two collages every day meant that I completed the book in a couple of months. It doesn’t matter that the book has only sold one copy. I enjoyed creating by using these little bits of art and putting them together in an unusual way. I also learned how to assemble books in a new and better way.
If I had started thinking about what I was going to do with the book – how to promote it, how to sell it, book tours – I’m getting ahead of myself. I just needed to make it, a page at a time.
The point is to just work towards a goal, step by step. After you’ve completed a step, then go to the next step.
It is just like cooking zucchini bread. First you need a recipe. That is your road map. But even a recipe is a bunch of little steps. You have to have all the right tools and ingredients necessary. You need a stove and a whisk and a fork and some bowls. And of course you need zucchini and flour and spices and baking powder and soda. It is all made up of a bunch of little things.
If you ever have a really heavy project that you have to deal with then definitely break it up into little steps. I’m thinking of something like dealing with an estate or getting married. These are not everyday projects, and they are important to do correctly.
Do everything that you can get away with early as soon as you can. It is certain that if you leave things to the last minute then three other things that you didn’t expect will creep up on you and you will have to deal with them and the other things at the same time.
well said !
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