Stakes and Small Pieces: The Rise of an Idea to Reality

Growing up in the Tucson desert, I’ve always been fascinated by the ocean and the vibrant creatures that lived there. While pursuing my undergrad, I kept saltwater fish tanks and enjoyed the delicate ecosystem I was able to create and care for – it was my own mini coral reef right at home! I always enjoy hobbies with endless learning, and this fell nicely in that category. I was constantly learning about new coral and fish species, general marine biology concepts, and how I could optimize my aquarium so that my inhabitants could thrive.

This passion led to my idea of writing and illustrating a children’s book that educated readers about a handful of colorful creatures who call coral reefs home.

I started the cover art for this book, “Reef Pals”, in winter of 2013 right before I graduated from Business School. I was so excited! The thought of bringing this project to life and sharing it with others was inspiring.

I finished about three-quarters of the cover art, and then it sat.

After graduation I landed my first “big girl job” and although I still had the desire to finish my book, it seemed that life kept getting in the way.

So, it kept sitting.

Flash-forward a couple years and I had worked on the art on-and-off only to finish the cover and the basic elements of about half of the pages. The outline of the book, and to complete it, meant finishing the art for roughly 30 more scenes. Every time I’d sit down to work on it, and contemplate that fact, it felt discouraging, and ever more difficult to find motivation to sit down and work on it again.

So, it sat.

It’s now 2018 and I’m in the last year of my MBA. For some reason, being busier made it easier to schedule in time to work on the book. I was already in a rigid routine and accustomed to the method of “time boxing,” or scheduling finite time periods for specific tasks. I told myself that this was the year that I was going to get this book done.

The work ahead wasn’t any less daunting. I would still feel small when I couldn’t clearly pinpoint the vast amount of work it would take to accomplish this goal, and it was then that I got an idea.

Stakes and small pieces.

It was spring of 2018 when I made the decision to sign up for a trade show in Las Vegas for the Fall. The trade show was centered around the marine aquarium hobby and was an excellent venue for promoting my book. The only issue was, it still wasn’t done.

Now I had a deadline. That was the stakes. If I didn’t get the book done, I’d lose that travel and reservation money. But how do I ensure the book gets done? For step two, I followed up with opening an MS Project file and entering every single small task I could think of that would lead to the completion of the book. This included visiting a local printer and estimating production time.

I set dates to each task, and instead of working on the book once every few months for several hours, I did little manageable tasks every night after work. Add logo-matching page numbers, check. Complete line art for character 2 on page 20, check. As I approached the deadline, I could see how much progress I was making with every little task completed.

Soon, I was just a few weeks out from the trade show. I was feeling the pressure, but I was also seeing the results!

I provided the file to a local printer for production, and I received my first print run of books 3 days before leaving for the trade show.

IT WORKED! Five years after starting this project, I got to hold my first book. 

Professionally or personally, if you are struggling at the thought of completing a project or accomplishing a lofty goal; just remember, stakes and small pieces.