1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,800 Speaker 1: tip is that if you are working on something big, 4 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:23,760 Speaker 1: just get going with whatever part you feel you can do. 5 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: We often start at the very beginning, because, in the 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: words of the famous song, that is a very good 7 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 1: place to start. But it is not the only place 8 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:40,639 Speaker 1: to start. You can begin anywhere. Today's tip comes from 9 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: the field of design thinking, an approach that focuses on 10 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:49,000 Speaker 1: developing ideas for possible solutions, testing them out, and refining 11 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 1: them based on what you learn. According to author Warren Berger, 12 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: begin anywhere as an important principle of design thinking. He 13 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: explains that the principle was borrowed from the composer John Cage, 14 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,320 Speaker 1: who thought you could begin a musical composition anywhere within 15 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: the composition. In other words, you don't necessarily have to 16 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: compose the opening bars first. If you've got a good 17 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: idea for a musical moment in the middle, go ahead 18 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: and start there. You can figure out what's around it 19 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: based on what you have created. With big projects, in general, 20 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 1: almost any starting point will do. What you learn will 21 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: help you figure out what aspect of the work to 22 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: work on next. I definitely do this with my books. 23 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:39,400 Speaker 1: If I am working on a chapter, I might not 24 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: know exactly how I plan to start the chapter, and 25 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: the opening might change in any case, but if I've 26 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: got a good example I know I'm going to include, 27 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: I can write that portion first. I don't always write 28 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: the chapters in order either. If I have all the 29 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: material for chapter five before I have the material for 30 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: chapter three, I can write chapter five first. That's fine. 31 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: It all needs to get written eventually, so best not 32 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 1: to sit around waiting for chapter three to pull itself together. 33 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: So it goes for many things. If you are overwhelmed 34 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,639 Speaker 1: at the sight of your attic, just pick one box 35 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: figure out what to do with everything in it, or, 36 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,520 Speaker 1: as some people have advised, grab a garbage bag and 37 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:31,240 Speaker 1: start identifying things in your attic you know you could 38 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: throw away. You can begin anywhere. If you want to 39 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: start a blog, just write a post. It doesn't have 40 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 1: to be your introductory post or heaven forbid, your lifetime manifesto, 41 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: and you don't have to know what sections you want 42 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: on the site. Just start writing that first post, and 43 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,360 Speaker 1: the one after that will help you figure out your purpose. 44 00:02:56,120 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: Your website, organization, and your voice. If you want to 45 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: cook more, make dinner tonight. Start with the rice you 46 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: know you're going to be making. No need a meal 47 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: planned for the week, or order a stack of cookbooks 48 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 1: or reorganize your pantry. That can come later. For now, 49 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: just cook a meal, see how it goes. Iterate from there. 50 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: Don't waste time feeling stuck or figuring out the very 51 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: beginning of something. Instead, dive in with what you know 52 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: you can do. Then, with what you learn from your experience, 53 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,839 Speaker 1: you can adjust and refine your plans. You can keep 54 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: on going until you have taken your project to completion. 55 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and 56 00:03:50,240 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for 57 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, 58 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. 59 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts 60 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 61 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.