icon of a sprouted sapling

Sequencing

Sequencing is the process of ordering events.

What is the order of operations? What comes before what?

This is especially important for big goals and long time horizons. What groundwork must be laid? What is the base of the pyramid? What needs to be done to set up for the mid-to-later stages of your project? What flywheels do you need to start spinning?

If you can lay out (in multiple levels of resolution) the steps to achieving your goal, you've created a plan and defined what needs to be done first.

Sequencing also reveals assumptions, holes in your thinking and points of ambiguity. It forces you to connect the your bright shiny goal all the way to today, to reality in front of you. This exercise also gives you a better idea of what reaching your goal will take, giving you an opportunity to reevaluate if that's actually what you want.