First, let me say HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Now let’s jump on today’s springboard.

Do the Small Things

We all want to do big things. We want to be chosen to pitch the big account. We want to get to plan the big event. We want to emcee the big convention. We want to make the big presentation. Those are awfully tough assignments (and some of us fear those—we’ll deal with that in another springboard), but we want to show we can rise to the challenge. We definitely look forward to the accolades and praises if we actually pull off those big challenges.

However, today, you are in your office. You’re alone. There is no crowd to praise you. There is no reward awaiting you. No big thing on the horizon. You know there are some small things you ought to do, but really, you can get by without doing them today. I don’t know why these little repetitive tasks are so hard for us. Usually, they are the easiest things to be done, but we balk at them and put them off like they are a climb up Mt. Everest.

Perhaps you’re running a small home business and you need to record today’s invoices, receipts and deposits. If you wait and record them tomorrow, it won’t be a huge deal. Or maybe you’re in some kind of technology field. You know you should do some reading to keep up with the minute-by-minute changes so you can stay on top of your game. But then again, those magazines and websites will still be there tomorrow. Or you might be the manager or president of a company. You know you should take a few minutes to walk slowly through the crowd, as John Maxwell says, and connect with the folks you lead. But hey, you’ll have the same subordinates tomorrow. You can get to it then.

3 Reasons It’s a Bad Idea to Put Off the Small Things

1. It won’t be any easier tomorrow.

Nothing about turning the page on your day planner is going to make you want to do those small things any more tomorrow.

2. In fact, it will be harder tomorrow.

Now you have two days worth of this stuff to do meaning it will seem even more daunting and you will be less likely to do it.

3. You’ve already started the wrong kind of habit.

I’ve read it takes about a month to develop a habit. I’m not sure I agree. Maybe it takes a month to develop a good habit. It seems to only take me one day to develop a bad habit like procrastination.

It may be true that skipping just this once wouldn’t hurt you tremendously. The problem is you’re taking step one on a detrimental path. If you don’t do them today, it will be much easier to not do them tomorrow and the next day, and the next. When the little things don’t get done, they turn into big nightmares. If you don’t keep those financial records up, they become a weeklong project. Not to mention, you will almost definitely get nailed for overdraft charges because you don’t know your balance. The day you’ll finally work on it is the day you receive your penalty notice for overdue sales tax. If you let your continuing education slip, you may fake it for a while, but eventually you’ll be so behind the times your more up to date competitors will have the jump on you. Business will suffer. Your employer will figure out you’re behind and pass on the big projects to someone else. If you don’t do the small relational things to stay in touch with those you lead, it won’t take long for some minor altercation to become an amazing breakdown in office or company morale. It could even get to the point of mutiny (like the Logan’s I went to recently in which the service and food were terrible and the excuse offered was a bunch of their workers just walked out that day and the managers were doing the cooking).

Buck up. Do the small things. No matter how hard it seems to do them.

5 Steps to Get the Small Things Done

1. List them.

That may seem simple. But some folks miss the small things because they don’t ever think about them. Take a few minutes and write down what small things you need to do regularly. Each individual action won’t amount to much, but over time they’ll provide big results.

2. Write down why they are important.

I think this is an important step most people forget. They get out their day planners, list the little things, prioritize them in code but they haven’t really thought through why they are important. Thus, when they look at them on that paper, the only motivation to do them is to place check marks. That kind of motivation doesn’t last very long. When you write why these small things are important, you may find out some really don’t need to be done. They’re just busy work—scratch them. However, for the others, you now have a written reminder to pull out and read when you feel like procrastinating. As you write these paragraphs, list the long-term payoff you’ll receive from keeping up with these little things and also the long-term nightmares that will arise if you don’t.

3. Schedule them.

These little things won’t get done on their own. I know it’s tempting to think you can just fit the little things into the gaps around all the big things. The problem is, if you don’t have these small things scheduled, you won’t think about them in the gaps. Instead, you’ll hop on Facebook to see if your old college roommate ever posted that compromising picture of you that they staged while you were sleeping.

4. Tell someone else about it.

I know you don’t like this one. We all like to be ruggedly independent. We don’t need anyone’s help. Skip this step if you like. All I can tell you is when I let someone else know my plan and give them permission to hold me accountable, I get the jobs done more often. It might even be a small thing you can do with someone. Get them involved and you will be helping them also.

5. Measure your progress.

This is not always easy because some of what these small things produce are intangible. Here are some ideas that work for different kinds of small tasks. For tasks like the financial record keeping, you can set up a chart in which you mark off how often you have actually done it. Looking back over a month of check marks is a bit rewarding. You might even give yourself a small reward for doing this so many times on schedule. For tasks like the continuing education reading, you can keep a log of how many articles or books you’ve read on your profession. Further, keep a notebook in which you list what you learned from them. Review your lessons learned list regularly. For tasks like the relationship building, every few weeks or so you should write a review about how your deeper relationships have helped out in the face of recent difficulties. The reason for this step is because each individual action doesn’t provide a huge payoff in the moment. Measuring your progress helps you recognize the payoff as it is happening over the long haul.

Repeat these steps as often as necessary.

Whatever you do, don’t let the small things slip. You will regret it. If you keep up with them regularly, they will turn into huge benefits. Not to mention, it’s usually only when you get the small things down that anyone will trust you with those big things you wanted to start with.