A Recipe Is a Plan

Open a cookbook and you see a list. Step one might say gather your bowls and spoons. Step two might say crack two eggs into a bowl. Each line tells you one thing to do next.

That list is a plan. Computer scientists sometimes call a plan an algorithm, which just means a list a machine can follow. You already use plans when you follow a recipe or build a Lego set.

Watch the step-flow animation. See how each step unlocks the next one, from empty counter to a finished sandwich.

Imagine baking a cake. If you put it in the oven before you mix the batter, you have an empty tin and a mess. The steps must happen in a sensible order.

Some steps wait for others. You cannot frost until the cake cools. You cannot cool until it bakes. Each step needs the one before it to finish first.

When you write your own plan, read it twice. Ask: could I do step three before step one? If the answer is no, your order is doing its job.

A bad step says make it tasty. A good step says stir one spoon of sugar into the milk. Tasty is a feeling. One spoon is something anyone can measure.

If your friend could get confused, the step is too fuzzy. Split it into two smaller steps until each line means exactly one action.

Next you will plan a morning routine the same way. Wake up, wash, dress: each step in order, none left out.