Chunks of Time:
Most days I set myself a goal of 40 laps, or 1km. When we start, that seems like an impossible distance. I swim one lap, then 2, and think “No, I’ll never get to 40, that’s such a huge number”. But, I continue and next thing I’ve done 10, then 20, then 28, and 35. Two things have happened in this process: first, I’ve become very good at fractions, at adding and multiplying. Two laps are 50m, 4 are 100m, which is already 1/10 of what I want to do. Eight laps are 1/5 of what I’m aiming for, and 10 are 250m, which is 1/4km. Wow! And so on.
From actually experiencing this has come the realization that the same is true of life. Many huge, or even supposedly insurmountable, tasks or jobs are really not if you break them down. Do things in blocks, or chunks, of time or tasks and the fractions add up. Before you know it, you’ve actually finished.
Most days I set myself a goal of 40 laps, or 1km. When we start, that seems like an impossible distance. I swim one lap, then 2, and think “No, I’ll never get to 40, that’s such a huge number”. But, I continue and next thing I’ve done 10, then 20, then 28, and 35. Two things have happened in this process: first, I’ve become very good at fractions, at adding and multiplying. Two laps are 50m, 4 are 100m, which is already 1/10 of what I want to do. Eight laps are 1/5 of what I’m aiming for, and 10 are 250m, which is 1/4km. Wow! And so on.
From actually experiencing this has come the realization that the same is true of life. Many huge, or even supposedly insurmountable, tasks or jobs are really not if you break them down. Do things in blocks, or chunks, of time or tasks and the fractions add up. Before you know it, you’ve actually finished.
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