Second Cup: Start anywhere

0:03Speaker 1:Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is that if you are working on something big, just get going with whatever part you feel you can do. We often start at the very beginning because, in the words of the famous song, that is a very good place to start. but it is not the only place to start. You can begin anywhere. Today's tip comes from the field of design thinking, an approach that focuses on developing ideas for possible solutions, testing them out, and refining them based on what you learn. According to author Warren Berger, begin anywhere is an important principle of design thinking. He explains that the principle was borrowed from the composer John Cage.

1:01Speaker 1:who thought you could begin a musical composition anywhere within the composition. In other words, you don't necessarily have to compose the opening bars first. If you've got a good idea for a musical moment in the middle, go ahead and start there. You can figure out what's around it based on what you have created. With big projects in general, almost any starting point will do. What you learn will help you figure out what aspect of the work to work on next. I definitely do this with my books.

1:36Speaker 1:If I am working on a chapter, I might not know exactly how I plan to start the chapter. And the opening might change in any case. But if I've got a good example I know I'm going to include, I can write that portion first. I don't always write the chapters in order, either. If I have all the material for Chapter 5 before I have the material for Chapter 3, I can write Chapter 5 first. That's fine. It all needs to get written eventually. So best not to sit around waiting for Chapter 3 to pull itself together.

2:15Speaker 1:So it goes for many things. If you are overwhelmed at the sight of your attic, just pick one box. Figure out what to do with everything in it. Or, as some people have advised, grab a garbage bag and start identifying things in your attic you know you can throw away. You can begin anywhere. If you want to start a blog, just write a post. It doesn't have to be your introductory post or, heaven forbid, your lifetime manifesto. And you don't have to know what sections you want on the site. Just start writing. That first post and the one after that will help you figure out your purpose.

2:56Speaker 1:your website organization, and your voice. If you want to cook more, make dinner tonight. Start with the rice you know you're going to be making. No need to meal plan for the week or order a stack of cookbooks or reorganize your pantry. That can come later. For now, just cook a meal. See how it goes. Iterate from there. Don't waste time feeling stuck or figuring out the very beginning of something. Instead, dive in with what you know you can do. Then, with what you learn from your experience, you can adjust and refine your plans. You can keep on going until you have taken your project to completion.

3:45Speaker 1:In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening. And here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at laura at lauravandercam.com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Thank you.