doing one thing at a time

As is often the case, I recruited someone who grew up deftly playing video games to help me with a tech-heavy installation this week. Where I had gotten frustrated with an old-school read-the-manual approach (i.e. eventually toss the inscrutable instructions into the recycle bin), he tried and erred and patiently unraveled the problem one tiny fragment at a time. In addition he taught me--astonishingly-- how to do it myself with apparently boundless patience.

Once I had figured out the basics, I immediately leapt ahead into what was possible and started chattering excitedly about what we could do next. Stop, he said, smiling gently.

It's always better to do one thing at a time. You'll enjoy it more. Plus, you'll get it right.

Gotta love those tech-savvy Buddhas.