"Clean as you go."

When I was 14 years old, I worked for a landscape nursery. The owner was from The Netherlands and we called him "Mr. O" on account of the first letter of his last name. It was the type of job you could get when you are underage, it is a small business, and your 4-years-older sister's boyfriend works there and vouches for you. The type of job where your dad probably secretly chuckles because he is certain you will be exposed to things on your journey to manhood. The type of job where you find Mr. O's stash of Playboys and sneak one home, get buzzy headed chewing Redman tobacco as you push the mower, and drink Michelob at the 2 PM break because 1) you earned it; and 2) Mr. O needed one or his hands would shake. My dad was right.

One day, 14-year-old me was assigned to sweep up when finishing at a client's project. I just randomly started to sweep and make a mess. Mr. O kindly stopped me and said "Clean as you go, Moosie, clean as you go." and he showed me "start here, go there, and clean as you go." Sounds simple. But I was a dumbass suburban sheltered kid. I learned a lot for $1.65 per hour. I chuckle every year when opening my Social Security document and see 1976 as the year of first employment.

I apply "clean as you go" all the time to tasks from raking leaves, cleaning the kitchen, reviewing documents at work, to writing legal briefs. Really I use it for any task that seems overwhelming or complex. Start here. Go there. Clean as you go.

Maybe this is just common sense. But when I feel overwhelmed it helps me. Anyway, I think of that job, Mr. O, "clean as you go, Moosie," and a thousand lessons learned as a formative experience.

Start here. Go there. Clean as you go. Thanks for attending my TED Talk.