To be most effective
and use our time and energy optimally, we have to develop the habit of doing
things as thoroughly as we can the very
first time we do it! I think I’ve said something about this before, but it
bears repeating.
It’s true that a
positive attitude says that one should always give a second chance, and not
write off something or someone based on first impressions. But then situations
in our fast-moving world often just don’t have the wherewithal to offer that
second chance. This is where a consistent approach of doing as complete a job
as feasible the first time itself will increase the success rate in the long
run.
One of the activities
in which the first-time-best principle always seemed to kick in was in
photography, of all things! When out in the hills, you walk round a bend, and a
fantastic vista opens out. Or you may be driving, and as you crest a slope, a
broad valley spreads itself in the evening light. Stop and take a few
photographs! You may think that you can get the scene on your way back, but the
light may not be good, the point of view not so perfect (imagine having to walk
or drive with your face turned backwards!). You may not even come back that way
on your return trip! So stop the car, get down and use your best technique, and
capture the light! Take off the backpack, wipe your forehead, and take the
trouble of taking those perfect shots!
One of the common
sayings in hobby photography is “f8 and be there”. Turning this around, it
could also mean “Carry a camera wherever and whenever”. “Be there” is wherever you
happen to be! I still regret not following this advice on all my field trips
and official tours, because there is no way I’m going to be able to visit so
many field spots by myself. So most of us are reduced to taking snaps of the
cat or the dog.
Another activity in
which I find the truth of this principle, every day almost, is in reading and
writing. In the course of any substantial writing project (say a term paper or
a thesis), we are tempted to write very sketchy outlines as we go along, hoping
to be able to hunker down in the final couple of months or weeks and produce
the final masterly version. But then we find our references are all over the
place, we are unable to locate many of them, we are unable to understand our
own notes, and the subject has become so stale we feel like tossing the whole
lot into the can. Writing requires a certain state of euphoria which comes only
the first time we explore a subject; sadly, almost everything goes flat when
kept too long. So here’s where we should sit down and write what looks like the
final version from the start, just as if we are not going to be able to revisit
that part again. The last time I did this was my for my fellowship which got
over just a month back (hence the gap in postings). Luckily, I had followed the principle of composing more
or less the final draft during the entire
two-year period. I found that there was no way I could go back and redo any of
the earlier chapters in any depth… but since I had written them up exactly as I
would a final version, complete with references, page number citations, and so
on, I had very little editing to do at the final stage. I was able to print out
and deliver the mandatory three copies of the report, and even submit it for
publication, and vacate my room on the last day of the fellowship. This was
providential because I then went and broke a leg (my own, to clarify) – meaning
that there would have been no scope for going back for any work after the final
date!
So that’s the other
reason we need to take each opportunity or challenge as the real thing, and not
as trials. We don’t know what nasty surprises the future has waiting, so most
of our achievements are as they are fashioned during the run-up. As the saying
goes, life is what is happening even as
we’re planning it the way we imagine it should be. Let’s not leave it to the
next assignment, or the next meeting, or the next visit to our parents or visit
from our kids… let’s be a good friend or family member right now, with whoever
is around, let’s get it right the first time around, as it’s happening in the
here and now!
