On the Importance of Starting Late
A life-changing tip from Tiago Forte
Prepping for South By What’s Next
Tiago Forte yesterday taught me a surprisingly useful lesson.
I say it was surprising, because the title of his online workshop, “Just-in-Time Project Management,” did not exactly shout “Drop Everything: Life-Changing Insight Ahead.”
But Tiago being Tiago, one of the most original thinkers and generous teachers I’ve encountered via the Internet, yesterday’s Zoom class did not disappoint.
He showed how a life-long habit of mine (and maybe yours)—getting a head start on the details of any important project—is a flawed path to flow and success.
A better approach is to do different types of tasks in the Early and Late phases of a project.
For example, when I woke up today at 4:30 a.m. I had 90 minutes until Dave, my Sanibel Airport Taxi driver, would arrive in our driveway to take me to RSW for my flights to South By Southwest in Austin. The name of this project might have been Final Prep for South By.
Old Len would have filled the Early phase with anxious doublechecking of my carry-on contents and my mobile-podcasting gear. There is nothing worse than arriving at a conference and discovering you forgot a cable that connects your Zoom H1n recorder to your MackBook Air.
Tiago-inspired New Len tried a different approach.
After 15 minutes of sitting meditation, I played the soundtrack to ToyStory on my speakers and opened my Kindle Scribe for some journaling. I thus devoted the project’s Early phase to tapping into my imagination, where lives my boyish delight in all things tech. I willed myself to believe there would be time to check USB cables, underwear, and meds closer to when Dave arrived.
The result was this poem:
SOUTH BY WHAT’S NEXT
a kid once a year
gets a chance to fly
into the future
Are you kidding me?
How cool is this?
They give him a press pass
so he can ask kid questions
of all the wizards
and grownups who are rich
whatever that means
What’s cool about Texas
is horses and how the poplars
behind our stone house
in Pampa smelled dry and cooked
That kid is now 74–
headed to Austin with
a recording studio
in his black fanny pack
he’s got a nose for what’s
coming round the corner.
It smells like Cracker Jacks,
sage, Stubbs barbecue sauce
and AI gumbo made with honey.
Let’s go, Dude!
As the end of this project’s timeline approached, I had plenty of time to complete my packing.
There were even enough minutes for a Nespresso with Darlene, who loved the poem. She also mentioned the word “toothbrush.” A glance in the bathroom showed it was still on the counter. My Tumi was closed, so I zipped the toothbrush into my CPAP carrying case. Et Voila:
Just-in-Time Project Management.
AKA: The importance of starting late for maximum flow and success.