“Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.” — Zig Ziglar
“Worst things first” is a practice I learned long ago and it’s actually helpful whether it’s day to day or building software.
The idea is simple — do the worst things first.
Rather than save a big hurdle to the end, do it up front when you are at your strongest.
Get It Over With
It’s human nature to move away from pain. Sometimes I have a meeting or a conversation or even just a task for the day that I’m not looking forward to.
I’m not talking about the stuff I can ignore forever.
I’m talking about stuff that needs to happen sooner rather than later, that I won’t enjoy doing.
Don’t Let It Loom Over You
If I push those things to the end of the day or the end of the week, they loom. Why loom longer than necessary?
That’s draining.
Somebody long ago gave me the tip worst things first and I didn’t realize it’s actually become one of my most effective habits.
One of my mentees is going to combine Worst Things First with a 30 day Improvement Sprint to see how much energy they get back and how much more they get done.
I think this is a great experiment and I look forward to their results.
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