“Be three before be four before be five!”
Early Childhood Aspirational Chant
It’s a universal law: Some things just have to happen BEFORE other things can happen. One can’t be ALL of FOUR until completing ALL of THREE.
PREPARATION and INVESTMENT make a huge difference … clearing a path … building a foundation … “getting one’s ducks in a row” … getting rid of the cobwebs … putting some real “equity” on the line …
INSTRUCTOR: “What is one thing you have learned in the college preparation process?”
STUDENT: “I’ve learned it’s best to complete important tasks WAY before the due date to avoid stressing myself out.” Brisa
BEFORE I go out, I’ve got to get my phone, keys, and wallet, double check my calendar and have a LIST … so I don’t wander all over Creation BEFORE tending all the stuff I’ve got to tend.
But AFTER is equally important: One can’t really be DONE until – i.e., BEFORE – the kitchen is cleaned up, the grant or contract has been submitted, the tools are put away, a key request has been sent on the wing, the “slow roast” is in the oven …
Personally, I make frequent use of BEFORE “resets” – off-line times to re-orient and get the first next action / project lined up. [NOTE: Many of my “resets” look a lot like “Naps” to the uninitiated – more so in retirement! But they’re “resets”, nonetheless.] Resets need to be accommodated with as little external input as possible … no cell phone, no scrolling on the internet, no “kibitzing” …
During my normal work life, when I had “writer’s block” writing grants and contracts, “White Papers” or reviews, I would frequently hike up and down four flights of stairs. By the time I got back to my desk, the “block” was cleared and ink went flying again.
When not direly pressed, one can also just “watch the daisies grow”. A lot of the very best stuff requires INCUBATION. Resets don’t have to be a BIG deal – just getting a fresh cup of coffee, going to the bathroom, clearing the work space, shoveling snow, watering the lawn …
Isaac Newton was just sitting under an apple tree when he formulated the concept of gravity.
Archimedes was just taking a bath when he discovered that “two bodies could not occupy the same space at the same time” and was inspired to develop the concept of volume and density. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/how-eureka-moments-science-happen/
The key is to GET SOMETHING INCUBATING! It creates critical momentum.
BOTTOM LINE
“Majoring” in BEFORE stuff can advance one
unnumberable “degrees” forward.
Quartermaster
