In Others’ Words: Getting Ahead

Beth VogtQuotes, Reality, Writing 36 Comments

“The secret to getting ahead is getting started.” ~Mark Twain, American author & humorist

And the rest of the quote goes: “The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

Duh.

I tend to over-complicate things. Spend too much time staring at the big picture and letting it overwhelm me. Then the “I can’t” thoughts ramp and before too long, I’m accomplishing nothing.

Sometimes it’s the simplest truths that make the biggest difference in our lives, isn’t it? Rather than try to tackle the big picture — the whole thing, that never-gonna-get-it-all-finished everything — all I need to do is get started. Or, as my husband likes to say: Do the next thing.

Getting ahead is as brilliantly simple as that.

In Your Words: It’s Monday. Got a lot to do? Don’t worry about finishing — don’t think about Friday. What one thing do you need to do to get started?

Comments 36

  1. Your hubby and my hubby would get along great. My hubby always says that “if you’re worried about something, get to work on it. Start on it and you will feel better.”

    I agree. We just need to take it one thing at a time.

    1. 🙂
      Loree,
      It’s the truth.
      The challenge is when there’s a lot of “one things” waiting.
      The reality is you can only do one of them at a time . . . so ya gotta pick one.

  2. I LOVE this! This has been my motto ever since we said yes to adoption. Because there about a million cajillion things to get done and when I look at all of them, I start to hyperventilate. But if I look at just one thing at a time, if I look at just one day at a time and figure out what to do that day, then I’m good! I can do that! God is the MASTER at giving us our daily bread.

    1. Katie,
      I can’t even imagine all you have to do as you walk the adoption path … praying for you.
      And yes, thanks for the reminder of looking for (and expecting) only “our daily bread.”

  3. I do try to break down big projects, and yes, they are so much more agreeable when they are in small bits. And not so overwhelming. Like putting a collection together for a book – just work on one story at a time. Before you know it – collection done (or getting there, anyway!).

  4. That’s soooo refreshing to hear and to think about. Like you, I tend to get overwhelmed if I look at everything I have to. Today, my one thing is to work on rewriting a chapter in my novel. Thanks, Beth! Have a great Monday.

  5. Like I tell my daughters: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. This morning, my bite is finishing the synopsis to send to Susie.
    Another thing I tell them: If there’s something you have to do, but are dreading it…do it first. Get it out of the way. Makes everything else so much easier.

  6. Coming back to read later, but wanted to share a couple of thoughts. Hopefully they’re not also shared above me. 🙂

    First, that whole eating the elephant thing–so helpful to break things down into bite-size–accomplishable tasks.

    When I taught, I’d create units beginning with the big picture. Then, I’d break that down into subpoints (think outline). Then, I’d break those down into the steps needed to eventually accomplish the big picture. 🙂

    Using Susan May Warren’s resources to prepare to write has been so helpful in learning how to write a novel. This week, my goal is to write the last few scenes and write “The End.” I’ll begin that by writing one scene at a time. 🙂

    1. Having watched you systematically write scene by scene by scene, I know you’ve worked hard to get to “The End.” Jeanne.
      You’re almost there.
      How shall we celebrate?
      🙂

  7. I too am one who looks at the entire task and is overwhelmed to the point of paralysis sometimes. “Do what’s next” seems a no-brainer to some, but a needed reminder for us all-or-nothin types. I have a weird system for doing my work (church office manager doing everything from bookkeeping, recordkeeping, publicicity, media prep, preschool administration, webmistressing, etc etc) : I tend to want to get everything done at once, and don’t want to forget something, so I am often seen with 14 or more piles of work around me at my L-shaped desk. I tend to try to do them all at once. Yes, I know, this is ridiculous. But I’ve not been able to change this compulsion, so I’ve learned to roll with it. I sometimes flit from stack to stack keeping at the piles until they’re all done. Helps keep me focused, maybe. Or maybe I just like to look like I’m really busy. 🙂

    What’s the next thing? Oh, shower. Yes, I believe I can do that…. 🙂

  8. Excellent advice, Beth. I needed to hear it. I tend to focus on a whole task at once and feel overwhelmed when what would serve me better is putting my detail-oriented mind to work on one small portion.

  9. Good stuff, Beth. And sooooo fitting for a Monday. The one thing I need to do today to get started: Focus. I had an emotional jumble of a weekend (not bad, just roller coastery 🙂 ) and now I just need to FOCUS. (And probably have another cup of coffee too) 🙂

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