WEBVTT - Start anywhere

0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:09.640
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

0:00:11.119 --> 0:00:16.720
<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:19.800
<v Speaker 1>tip is that if you are working on something big,

0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:23.760
<v Speaker 1>just get going with whatever part you feel you can do.

0:00:24.920 --> 0:00:27.840
<v Speaker 1>We often start at the very beginning, because, in the

0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:30.920
<v Speaker 1>words of the famous song, that is a very good

0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:34.320
<v Speaker 1>place to start. But it is not the only place

0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:40.639
<v Speaker 1>to start. You can begin anywhere. Today's tip comes from

0:00:40.680 --> 0:00:43.960
<v Speaker 1>the field of design thinking, an approach that focuses on

0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:49.000
<v Speaker 1>developing ideas for possible solutions, testing them out, and refining

0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:53.080
<v Speaker 1>them based on what you learn. According to author Warren Berger,

0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:57.360
<v Speaker 1>begin anywhere as an important principle of design thinking. He

0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:00.800
<v Speaker 1>explains that the principle was borrowed from the composer John Cage,

0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:05.320
<v Speaker 1>who thought you could begin a musical composition anywhere within

0:01:05.360 --> 0:01:09.240
<v Speaker 1>the composition. In other words, you don't necessarily have to

0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:13.600
<v Speaker 1>compose the opening bars first. If you've got a good

0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:17.240
<v Speaker 1>idea for a musical moment in the middle, go ahead

0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:20.800
<v Speaker 1>and start there. You can figure out what's around it

0:01:21.120 --> 0:01:25.800
<v Speaker 1>based on what you have created. With big projects, in general,

0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:29.840
<v Speaker 1>almost any starting point will do. What you learn will

0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:32.160
<v Speaker 1>help you figure out what aspect of the work to

0:01:32.240 --> 0:01:35.880
<v Speaker 1>work on next. I definitely do this with my books.

0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:39.400
<v Speaker 1>If I am working on a chapter, I might not

0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:43.280
<v Speaker 1>know exactly how I plan to start the chapter, and

0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:46.720
<v Speaker 1>the opening might change in any case, but if I've

0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:49.120
<v Speaker 1>got a good example I know I'm going to include,

0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:53.760
<v Speaker 1>I can write that portion first. I don't always write

0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:57.640
<v Speaker 1>the chapters in order either. If I have all the

0:01:57.680 --> 0:02:00.720
<v Speaker 1>material for chapter five before I have the material for

0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:05.400
<v Speaker 1>chapter three, I can write chapter five first. That's fine.

0:02:06.560 --> 0:02:09.840
<v Speaker 1>It all needs to get written eventually, so best not

0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:13.680
<v Speaker 1>to sit around waiting for chapter three to pull itself together.

0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:19.080
<v Speaker 1>So it goes for many things. If you are overwhelmed

0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:21.639
<v Speaker 1>at the sight of your attic, just pick one box

0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:25.720
<v Speaker 1>figure out what to do with everything in it, or,

0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:28.520
<v Speaker 1>as some people have advised, grab a garbage bag and

0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:31.240
<v Speaker 1>start identifying things in your attic you know you could

0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:36.720
<v Speaker 1>throw away. You can begin anywhere. If you want to

0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:39.840
<v Speaker 1>start a blog, just write a post. It doesn't have

0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:43.480
<v Speaker 1>to be your introductory post or heaven forbid, your lifetime manifesto,

0:02:44.560 --> 0:02:46.720
<v Speaker 1>and you don't have to know what sections you want

0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:52.440
<v Speaker 1>on the site. Just start writing that first post, and

0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:55.360
<v Speaker 1>the one after that will help you figure out your purpose.

0:02:56.120 --> 0:03:00.760
<v Speaker 1>Your website, organization, and your voice. If you want to

0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:03.840
<v Speaker 1>cook more, make dinner tonight. Start with the rice you

0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:06.720
<v Speaker 1>know you're going to be making. No need a meal

0:03:06.760 --> 0:03:09.280
<v Speaker 1>planned for the week, or order a stack of cookbooks

0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:13.919
<v Speaker 1>or reorganize your pantry. That can come later. For now,

0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:18.520
<v Speaker 1>just cook a meal, see how it goes. Iterate from there.

0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:24.200
<v Speaker 1>Don't waste time feeling stuck or figuring out the very

0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:29.160
<v Speaker 1>beginning of something. Instead, dive in with what you know

0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:33.600
<v Speaker 1>you can do. Then, with what you learn from your experience,

0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:38.839
<v Speaker 1>you can adjust and refine your plans. You can keep

0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:43.000
<v Speaker 1>on going until you have taken your project to completion.

0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:50.120
<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

0:03:50.240 --> 0:04:00.320
<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

0:04:00.360 --> 0:04:05.080
<v Speaker 1>listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:14.760
<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:18.880
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:23.520
<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:25.440
<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows.