At each stage of the play he gets new information which causes him to reassess his position, but nothing is actually done.

It’s counterintuitive to think that more information could be bad for you or that acting quickly and with conviction could be anything but rash. And yet in some situations this is exactly what is needed.

One thing I notice from time to time is that some tasks sit around on my list forever, never going anywhere, always being demoted in favour of other tasks. And these build up and up, until a list is a big, unwieldy mess and I don’t know where to begin.

Short to do lists are great.

If something has been hanging around for a while or a list has grown too large, I ask these questions:

1. Do I really want to do this?

Is it on your list because it’s something you think you should be doing?

2. Do I need to do this urgently?

If it’s not urgent but you still want to do it someday, move it to another pile. Put it in your calendar or your “one day I’ll get round to it” list.

3. Is there a step I need to complete before I can do this?

You could be delaying something because it’s actually the second step in a process. Sometimes these first steps are so small or obvious that we don’t articulate them. Like phoning a friend to recommend a restaurant before you phone to reserve a table.

4. What stops me from completing this?

Are there psychological barriers holding you back? Maybe you don’t want to clear out your office because you’re afraid of throwing out something important. Think about your hang-ups and maybe work on those first. Acknowledge them and move on, or do what you need to do to heal them.

When I first learned to cook, I measured out everything to the gram, but now I shun measurements and timing for almost everything. (I still can’t get the knack of baking.) What I’ve got now is not arrogance, but a set of internal guides or heuristics that have come into place without me really codifying them. I know how much is too much and how much is not enough.

It’s like that joke about the difference between theory and practice. In theory there’s no difference, in practice there is.

But there are things that I find myself saying (not always aloud) to keep myself from being mediocre. The next time you seem to have everything in place but don’t feel satisfied, try one of these:

1. It would be amazing if…
2. What is one step beyond the norm? What is ten steps beyond?
3. What is the opposite of what everybody else is doing?
4. What will make people stop and think?
5. What can I take away? What is barely sufficient?
6. Where can I exaggerate? How big can I make the focus before it becomes ridiculous?
7. What if it was ridiculous?

Maybe we should focus on the good stuff first, then pick up the basics as we go along.