Running a Procedure

We of course would not encourage anyone with a carbon-based lifeform to drink fermented sugars, but by way of example, let's mix a drink:

mix_gargle_blaster :

    1.  Take the juice from one bottle of Ol' Janx Spirit.
    2.  Pour in one measure of water from the seas of Santraginus V.
    3.  Allow three cubes of Arcturan Mega-gin to melt into it.
    4.  Bubble four litres of Fallian marsh gas through the mixture.
    5.  Over the back of a silver spoon, float a measure of Qualactin
        Hypermint extract.
    6.  Drop in the tooth of an Algolian Suntiger.
    7.  Add an olive.
    8.  Drink. But very carefully.

To execute a Technique procedure you simply start at the top and work through the steps in order. Begin with step 1.

    1.  Take the juice from one bottle of Ol' Janx Spirit.

and put it in the drink. Then

    2.  Pour in one measure of water from the seas of Santraginus V.

which is straight-forward enough (though we're obviously neglecting the need to develop faster-than-light travel to get you to the fifth planet in the Santraginus system; one thing at a time).

Each numbered step must be finished before you move to the next. Finally we do step 8,

    8.  Drink. But very carefully.

and when this is done the mix_gargle_blaster : procedure as a whole is complete.

Substeps

Step 3 hides some subtlety worth spelling out:

    3.  Allow three cubes of Arcturan Mega-gin to melt into it.
        a.  Remove cubes from tray. They must still be frozen —
            if they thaw first the benzine is lost.
        b.  Drop them into the mixture.
        c.  Wait until they have fully melted.

A step isn't complete until all its substeps have been carried out, in order. So step 3 is unfinished until a, b, and c have each been done. Only then do you move to step 4.

Sections

For a longer procedure you can mark phases with sections. All steps in one section are carried out before you move to the next.

mix_gargle_blaster :

I. Mix Drink

    1.  Take the juice from one bottle of Ol' Janx Spirit.
    2.  Pour in one measure of water from the seas of Santraginus V.
    3.  Allow three cubes of Arcturan Mega-gin to melt into it.
    4.  Bubble four litres of Fallian marsh gas through the mixture.
    5.  Over the back of a silver spoon, float a measure of Qualactin
        Hypermint extract.
    6.  Drop in the tooth of an Algolian Suntiger.
    7.  Add an olive.

II. Enjoy Responsibly

    1.  Drink. But very carefully.

III. Rehabilitation Afterwards

    1. Seek out a voluntary organization capable of helping. Or mixing you
       another one.

Complete everything in I before starting II, and obviously you need to do II before III.

Keeping track

For a short procedure you can keep your place in your head. For a longer one, mark off what's done as you go — a printed checklist (we showed how to render one in the previous chapter) works well, as does simply using a pencil to mark a copy of the source.