We have a large, two by two-meter cuddle blanket on our couch. Today, it was time for its quarterly trip through the laundry machine.
I curled up the blanket into one big roll and popped it into the drum. As I was about to add detergent, however, I realized: If I run the machine with the blanket in this preconfigured shape, chances are, it’ll stay in that shape for the entire run. Only the outside will get cleaned.
I took the blanket back out, unfurled it, and shoved it back into the washing machine in a more chaotic but also more natural manner. Now, it could fly around freely as the drum would spin—and get rinsed from every angle.
When you start a new project with a fixed idea of where every part is supposed to go, you’re only considering a small percentage of its possible surface area. If you want to discover not just what you’ve planned but the very best version of what the work in front of you can be, first, you must untangle the inputs. Allow the rods and screws to lie strewn all across the floor. Chaotic but unburdened. Natural. Brimming with potential. Then, you start turning the drum—and trust that all the pieces will fall into place.