Just like eating an entire pie… one slice at a time…

Alright, so I can’t actually eat a whole pie, nor do I have any aspirations of being able to do so. But if I did want to, I’m sure I would do it one slice at a time.

Sometimes larger goals feel unattainable, especially when you look at them within the context of their bigger picture. Large accomplishments take time, but that time can also make everything appear cloudy.

I think the best thing to do is to break everything into slices. And then each of those slices gets broken down into individual, bite-sized pieces — things I know I can do right now and accomplish something small.

So to continue with this ridiculous food metaphor, which for some reason I just won’t give up, I’ve usually got a bunch of different pies that need eating. And some that you might say haven’t even been baked yet.

Currently, my pie shelf looks kind of like this:

• Blueberry – Writing a book
• Peach Cobbler – Adding content to this website
• Strawberry Rhubarb – Making YouTube videos
• Apple – Preparing festival workshops
• Pumpkin – Producing a new album

The real question here is… does a cobbler count as a pie? I mean…

Like I said earlier, I can’t eat that entire blueberry pie — my book — all at once. I have to slice it up into chapters. But even an entire chapter can sometimes be too much, so I set smaller, bite-sized goals of getting at least 1000 words out each week.

I don’t always feel like eating blueberry pie. Sometimes I change flavors and do a few hours of video editing, website maintenance, or song-writing. Variety is the spice of life.

The thing is… pies can occasionally change flavor on their own. You might be eating bites of apple every day for months… and then you look down at your plate and realize it’s become blueberry. That’s actually kind of how my book was born.

That last part made sense right? No, no… I think I’ve lost the metaphor.