We’ve all heard the saying, “You’ve got too many irons in the fire!,” and we all know what it means. You’ve got too much going on, too many projects, and you can’t effectively handle them all. (reminds me of a semester or two I had in college)
One online source even suggests that Blacksmiths of old would say it because if they had too many irons in the fire, then they couldn’t keep track of their work.
I think the answer is more nuanced than that, and a bit incomplete. There is no arguing about what the phrase means today, but why did (and do) blacksmiths worry about how many irons are in the fire?
It’s not about keeping track, it’s about running out of time (and temperature)
Traditionally, blacksmiths used solid-fuel forges to heat their metal. They would burn anything from coke, or charcoal, to even certain types of wood. All fuels don’t perform equally, coke for example was very effective and could reach extremely high temperatures.
Blacksmiths didn’t have an accurate way to measure the temperatures of metal, but instead associated the particular task they wanted to complete with the color of the metal.
The redder the color, the lower the temperature. The yellower, i.e. the actual color of the fuel itself, the higher the temperature.
Different tasks can be accomplished at different temperatures, but the heat is critical. For metal to be properly forged it must reach a state of plasticity. This can only be done at forging temperatures, typically found between 1300 and 1800 degrees fahrenheit.
Lower temperatures in that range are used to draw, and flatten, and to bend, and upset the metal. Higher temperatures (depending on the steel being used) are used to forge-weld two separate pieces of steel together. In any event, the color (temperature) was the key.
Naturally, the longer the iron is in the fire, the hotter it gets. If it gets too hot though, past the 1800 degrees fahrenheit, and above 2000 degrees, the metal will burn. It will become molten and be ruined.
That is the real reason not to have too many irons in the fire. The risk of burning and destroying your hard work.
The risk of wasting time.
Better to have one or two irons in the fire
In the beginning, less is more. Until you understand the process and have built up the ability to keep pace, it’s better to have fewer irons in the fire. Too many, and some will burn.
The reality is It takes time for the metal to heat up to forging temperature, and it can be tempting to throw in more than you can handle.
Heating time is down-time for a smith, but if done right, a balance can be found between forging on the anvil while heating another piece in the forge.
Time is money!
However the saying started, and however it came to mean what it does today, the end result is the same. Time is money. Overload yourself and there will be consequences.
Compare iron with passions, labors, projects, interests, and/or business ideas you might have in life.
If you have too many in the fire, chances are none of them will be effectively worked.
We can learn much from the blacksmiths of old. Multitasking is a lie. There is only solo-tasking and the time given to an individual task is critical to the degree of success in that task.
The trick is balance. It’s different for everyone, but you’ll know when you have it.
Start small, start simple, and don’t put too many irons in the fire.
Photo by Matt Benson on Unsplash
Content originally posted by me here, November 6, 2019.