A Simple Solution To Life's Complexities
- writing a book
- cleaning out the garage
- teaching your dog to walk nicely on a leash instead
of lunging like a canine idiot, turning her eyeballs
blood red and making her tongue drag on the
ground
Anyway, as I was saying, life is made up of complex tasks for us to complete. Sometimes, though, those tasks paralyze us. Anxiety sets in, quickly followed by depression, and we all know what comes after that. Yep. Hello fat pants because you've downed twelve quarts of Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey.
There is, however, a handy dandy solution when you start to feel overwhelmed about a task, be it writing the next great American novel or changing the brakes on your car. A list. No, not a shopping list so you can plan your next ice cream binge. I'm talking about breaking down the complex into more manageable increments.
"When thoughts are written down, you can move them around, compare them,
combine them, or divide them as your thinking progresses."
~ Author Scott Berkun
Lists simplify. They make sense of things that are too big to wrap your arms around. And even if there's an item on your list that still seems too unwieldy, you can always write a sub-list.
Next time you're stuck on how to breathe life into your story or even just what to make for dinner Saturday night, make a list of your ideas.