Step by Step

Paula Modersohn Becker wrote, "Do not try to skip steps. If you have a long way to go, do not run." Such good advice.

Because it can be so tempting, when we start something new and exciting, to forge ahead with all our strength, and then run out of steam and enthusiasm a few weeks down the line. Or at least, that is what I have found. 

In her wonderful book, Better Than Before, Gretchen Rubin divides people into 'sprinters' and 'marathoners'. She writes, "I'm a Marathoner. I like to work at a slow and steady clip, and I dislike deadlines - in fact, I often finish work early.... Sprinters prefer to work in quick bursts of intense effort, and they deliberately wait for the pressure of a deadline to sharpen their thinking." I am definitely a Marathoner. 

And that was true in physical terms as well as ideological ones. When I used to run, I far preferred the slow, steady plod of distance running to the short, sharp shock of sprinting.

Rubin acknowledges that both approaches can work well; it depends on your personality. I much prefer the slow and steady approach. For example, my writing habits. Some writers, who work full time, can only find the time to write at weekends. They will spend a whole day doing nothing else, and their output on that day will be phenomenal. Then they won't have time to write again until the next weekend. Whereas I prefer to write for an hour each morning, producing between 500 and 1,000 words a day. And get up an hour earlier in order to find the time to do so.

But neither of us skip steps. We each tackle the task in front of us, at a pace that feels comfortable. The process of writing a book is necessarily a long one. I have heard of writers who write the scenes and chapters that come into their heads, and then settle down to fill in the gaps between them. I could never do that. 

The same applies to writing a service. I might be inspired by a particular reading or a particular theme, but I always follow the same process: I find the readings and prayers, the chalice lighting words, opening words and blessing, choose the hymns to fit with them, and then, only then, do I write the address.

I guess it doesn't matter what your overall approach to getting a task done is; the important thing is not to skip steps.