Every month I choose a goal for the month. It’s usually a big project I want to tackle or a good habit I’m trying to form. This month though I decided to try something slightly different and focus on small tasks. Lately, I’ve been re-reading some of the posts on the blog “Reading My Tea Leaves” which I found through the book “Simple Matters,” both by Erin Boyle. I’m fascinated by people who live amazing lives in tiny spaces and their lessons on simplicity and ingenuity. I highly recommend the book and the blog if you have similar interests. (Post contains affiliate link.)
One of Erin’s posts was about giving yourself time to fix something small in your home. That made me think of the long mental list of tiny things that I always mean to do but never quite get around to tackling. Yet every time I’m reminded of one of them I huff in frustration and tell my husband, “Ugh, I really need to do (insert tiny task here)!!!” Yes I’ve tried writing them down, but the bigger, more glamorous projects always take priority. But what if those tiny tasks were my big project? That’s when the idea for a month of tiny tasks was born.
Tiny tasks are the worst. They nag and nag at the edges of my mind, reminding me of my seeming inability to handle small things that should’ve been done days, weeks, months, even years ago. How wonderful would it feel if all of those things just suddenly went away??
Before I wrote them down, I wasn’t sure how many there would be, but I definitely came up with a long list to keep me busy. The rules were simple, 30 small tasks that could be done in about 20 minutes or less–one for each day in September. I could group them together, do one at a time, or skip days, as long as they were all completed by the end of the month.
This list served double duty because they were the perfect tiny tasks when I had an awkward amount of time and wasn’t quite sure what to do. Without a list, that time usually turns into checking my phone for just a “few minutes” and then wasting far more time than I planned.
What was my favorite tiny task I completed? Definitely installing some trim pieces on the flooring in the closets. It’s something I meant to do when I installed the floors a few years ago and never quite made a priority. It only took 10 minutes to measure the closets, cut the trim (which I found when renovating the garage), and install it. Now I can say the floors are completely done 🙂
I put together a printable in case you’d also like to complete a month of tiny tasks. Just print it out, write them down, and get going! There are only 30 so if you do it in October, you’ll have a free day 😉
This past month may not have been focused on an amazing before and after, but it definitely helped me feel more at ease. Sometimes it’s necessary to take the time to do the little things to give yourself more time and energy to focus on the bigger things!
