Solve the immediate problem and then the next one…and the next one. Until you get to the other side. As quoted by Marc on the meat deal.
I get in trouble when I go into my dark spots and wallow in the sheer amount of work I think I need to accomplish. I mean, it makes sense. I work 7 days a week and average about 12–15 hrs a day. It’s bound to happen. I suppose one of the benefits of working in biglaw was the ability to just take on volumes of work without sleep or rest, so this feels pretty easy compared to the alternative. When you’re faced with a mountain of work though, what do you do?
It seems so obvious, but you just break down the task into subcomponents. Easier said than done right? Honestly, sometimes I just jump into the task and see what comes of it. Set a short deadline for yourself (say half an hour or to an hour) and just jam on what needs to get done. Take a step back and ask yourself “Is this around the direction I want to go with this task?” It’s surprisingly simple, but effective. I find myself most inefficient when I overthink what needs to get done. Sometimes the act of prototyping and mocking up the work product is enough to help me formulate a more tangible plan. It’s all just ideas until you actually do something with it.
P.S. It feels good to be publishing again. I’d written for myself, but there is something freeing about putting the thoughts out there. It’s final. Writing without putting it into the ether seems a bit emptier. Maybe we can dig into this another time.
