One of the fun (and difficult) things about the Chinese language is that since it's been around for 5000 years or so, it has an idiom or set expression to cover every conceivable circumstance that a human being might find him/herself in.
I learned a fun one yesterday: 磨刀不误砍柴功 (mo dao bu wu kan chai gong), which means "sharpening the knife longer can make it easier to hack the firewood." In other words, take extra time to get it right in the preparation phase and then the work will be easier.
It was well-timed reminder for me as a couple of projects that I am working on are getting a much slower start than I would have liked. But the delays now will definitely make things easier in the long run.
Don't forget to sharpen your knife!
