WTWN #100 - Get Ahead of Yourself

It’s counterintuitive, but you really should put “last things first.”

“Preparation is not the opposite of action; it is the first act.” — Anonymous workshop wisdom.

“Be Prepared.” – Boy Scouts motto.

Whether you want to maintain a consistent writing habit or live with less stress, you need to get ahead of yourself.

No one ever asked me how I managed to publish one curated 600–1000-word essay a week for most of 2024, something comparable to a weekly newspaper column. But I managed it.

That’s a part-time job in its own right.

I have had a full-time job since graduating from college in 1986. Yet I still write. Only recently (in my late 50s) did I begin to publish my writing.

I wrote an essay a couple of years back about putting “last things first” to make a somewhat counterintuitive point about prioritization.

Today, I am again encouraging you to get ahead of yourself, so you are, as much as is humanly possible, always prepared to do the things you genuinely intend to do.

“Last things first” means making sure your work area is ready for the morning before you go to bed.

“Last things first” means being packed for work or a trip hours before leaving or even the night before.

“Last things first” means being ready to start, leave, or even go to bed.

Remember. The cliché is “Ready, Set, Go,” not “Go. Fumble around to see if you’re set. Scramble to get ready.”

In the case of my weekly essays, publishing on a Sunday deadline around noon does not happen by getting up early on Sunday mornings and busting ass until I’m done.

That would be crazy!

It means starting early and doing little bits in spare moments until, as if by magic, it somehow gets done.

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I’ll give you a behind-the-scenes look. Even though I published this on Sunday, it's now Monday morning. I'm riding the bus to work, typing on my Freewrite Traveler. During this 25-minute nonstop part of my commute, I’ll finish the first complete draft of this essay. It’ll be messy. That’s okay. I’ll revise it in bits and pieces throughout the rest of this week.

Last week, I experimented with scheduling a publish for the first time. Both the Substack that appeared and the LinkedIn post accompanying it were prescheduled on Friday when I finished them. My goal is to finish again by Thursday or Friday and pre-publish.

I seldom deal with time-sensitive material. This article should be just as relevant a year from now as it is now.

Think of the areas of your life where preplanning and readiness can benefit, areas where “doing the needful” (a handy phrase common in Indian Business English) is not time-sensitive.

Of course, there are exceptions. Fully packing for a holiday is difficult when you’re unsure whether you’ll need long pants or shorts because the weather is unclear. But some things will still be given, like toothpaste, a passport, etc.

There are very few areas of life where saving things to the last minute—a gambler’s goal of keeping one’s options open, hedging one’s bets, perhaps waiting for a better option—helps.

People afflicted with FOBO (Fear of a Better Option) are also likely to be procrastinators. FOBO thinking is one surefire way to procrastinate.

The problem is that you can spend your whole life waiting for better options, more clarity, etc., that may never materialize.

"We often think that we want an open road and the ability to choose any direction for ourselves. But sometimes, what we need is a tunnel that can reduce our choices and send us in a focused direction." – James Clear

I began this essay knowing this idea was good enough to start. If something brilliant comes to me Thursday, sure, I'll swap it in, but for now it's full speed ahead.

This requires trust.

But you can trust that your keys need to be in your work bag or pocket because you know you'll need them. Your clothes can be chosen and laid out for you because you know you'll need to wear something. You can stock up on food because you know you'll be eating.

Saving needful things for the last minute condemns you to a life of frantic haste and leaves no time for joy.

“Last things first” does not mean a frantic life. Doing your taxes two months early is less stressful than doing the same work with a looming deadline of midnight on April 15th.

Who knows how, but I'm still here.