I think this can be applied to almost any task. Yes I’m pretty sure it can, so it doesn’t really matter which analogy I’m going to use here but let’s go with… hmmm… painting a hallway.
So, what do you need to paint a hallway? Paint. But which colour? That decision alone can take a while but eventually you’ll decide on a nice shade of.. let’s say deep red (for example) . What next, oh yes. Brushes, maybe a roller as well? Dust sheets, some edging tape if you aren’t too steady of hand. Screwdriver to open the tins, stick to stir the paint. OK, almost set.
Now clear the hallway, take down any paintings and put the dustsheets down. I think that’s about it. Hey this is pretty easy, right?
So start painting. You work your way methodically down the hall. You keep checking the paint but you are sure you’ve estimated enough and it looks about right. You get to a corner. Hang on, you think, a corner? When did that get put in?
You peer round the corner and the hallway continues for another 60 feet.
And that, ladies and gents, saints and sinners, was my revelation yesterday. I knew the corner was there but had wrongly assumed, from the information I was given, that there was only an extra 2 feet of hallway beyond it.
So, in short (and this has been anything but) I’ll be pulling some draft posts out from the rafters, dusting them down, and posting them for the rest of the week. In other words, don’t expect anything topical from me as I’m a going to be a tad busy for the rest of the week.
And yes I realise the irony of procrastinating at such length when I should be “getting on with things”. But then, I’ve touched on my affliction for putting things off before.