Before Beginning, Prepare Carefully
I’m writing these notes on a SkyWest commuter flight to Santa Rosa, California. It’s a small plane en route to a small airport.
Two women seated behind me are having an extensive discussion about prosecco versus champagne. One insists she would never consume prosecco because it’s terrible and also “She’s not 19 anymore.” (She appears to be maybe 23.)
I’m not usually one to label something as “first world problems,” and I recognize that some palettes are more refined than others, but this does seem a bit extreme.
Meanwhile in my life one row ahead on the SkyWest flight, I have another first world problem: my book is coming out in two weeks, and there’s much to be done!
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a new book. Also, the last one came out during the very non-book season of April 2020, right when the world’s attention was on this weird pandemic thing that had just shown up.
And so now we’re in a new time. And so now I must prepare.
You’ve Been Here, Right?
Let’s assume that you’ve been in this place, too. Maybe not exactly in the same way—but in the leadup to a new stage of life that’s exciting and intense.
You feel nervous. Your friends ask if you’re “really excited” and you say yes… and that’s true, but you’re also a little afraid.
What’s coming up will be different from what has been. This time signifies the end of one thing and the beginning of something else. Change is life and life is change—but wouldn’t it be nice if we could perfectly control the pace and arrival of change?
Alas, that’s not how it works. And we we must prepare!
I’ve always liked the phrase before beginning, prepare carefully. Supposedly it comes from Marcus Cicero, or maybe it was Miley Cyrus.
Adding to that, here’s some advice that may be helpful: think of your preparations like a bank account in which you are making deposits.
Everything you do now will help you in the near future. The preparation you make, the sets of tasks you prepare in advance, the more you “bank,” the easier and more impactful it will be when the time comes.
I think of this model throughout the day. I run early in the morning but then often don’t leave the house at all after that. Once in a while I try to look out the window.
But it’s okay! It’s worth it. This is the season of book launch.
What It’s Like (for Me)
In the time of book launch, the goal is to prepare everything that will happen during the 2-4 week period that follows pub date. Many of the tasks fall into categories such as:
Logistics, including booking travel for 17 cities
Content, including writing my tour talk + creating a presentation that will evolve as I go, being interviewed lots of times for podcasts that will come out during that launch window, and recording many Side Hustle School episodes so that I’m ahead of schedule
Outreach, specifically to friends and colleagues who might be helpful in some way
When it comes to that last category, I’m reminded of this image from artist Joey Roth that I included long ago (11 years!) in The $100 Startup:
If it’s not self-explanatory, the idea is that a) no one likes a charlatan, but b) if you aren’t willing to hustle, no one is ever going to hear about your work. So you must endeavor to meet in the middle between doing good work (but not promoting it) and constantly promoting something that lacks meaning or substance.
And so I get to work. How do I feel about book tour? Nervous! It’s been a while. How do I feel about doing media? Also nervous, but a little less so. It’s not that hard: People ask questions, I give answers that are hopefully coherent.
Mostly I try to make a difference, to break through to the right group of readers, to not worry too much about numbers or circumstances outside my control.
Inevitably, there will be moments of surprise and wonder, others of disappointment, and maybe something unexpected along the way.
In the end you can do what you can, so that’s what you can—and should—do.
Lists, Lists, Lists
Like any compulsive person, my life is governed assisted by the use of lists. I use a series of apps for these lists, most notably OmniFocus, Roam Research, and Google Docs. Each of them sync between desktop and phone.
But then, every day I also write down my schedule and most important objectives on a notepad that’s always in sight. If I can only do one thing, what should it be? (Typically I choose up to three primary goals, but that can turn into a problem if one of them keeps moving forward to another day.)
Some of the work is collaborative, with my publishing team and a couple of close colleagues. But as longtime readers know, I work mostly on my own. The vast majority of these tasks I complete myself.
It’s funny because in some ways I’ve been getting away from lists. With some of the work I’ve done on the topic of time anxiety, I’m no longer convinced that lists are always useful. In some cases—as in, many cases—they produce a false sense of progress of achievement. You can also get really good at checking items of lists without actually accomplishing something of significance.
But! I also believe that there’s a time and place for a well-ordered sequence of list-making and list-checking. And at least for me, this is the time and place.
Before beginning, prepare carefully.
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