Take Small Steady Steps
“Poco a poco se anda lejos. (Little by little one travels far.) ”
This post is day 5 in the 31 Days to a Super-Purposeful Schedule.
Have you ever come to the end of a day and ask, "What did I do all day? Did I get anything done at all?"
Maybe it even felt like you were busy and working hard all day, but you didn't actually get any closer to your goals.
Urgent, but not always important
A lot of us spend most days handling the urgent, interrupting tasks, putting fires out and responding to every notification of our phone. And then we feel like we never have time to get to the things we really want to - things like writing a book, getting in shape, having a closer relationship with family and friends.
Take Small Steady Steps
Andy Stanley, in his book The Best Question Ever says this: “There is a cumulative value to investing small amounts of time in certain activities over a long period."
If you're feeling like you want to start spending more time on what matters but it all seems too big to tackle, start with small steady steps.
Do a little bit at a time each day and you'll be surprised what a difference it makes.
Need proof?
15 minutes writing everyday for a season can turn into a novel.
20 minutes hanging out with your kids everyday creates a stronger relationship.
30 minutes working out everyday can be enough to shed pounds and have more energy.
15 minutes a day can get you through the entire Bible in a year.
10 minutes power naps everyday can boost your focus and productivity.
The biggest problem with spending all our time on the urgent tasks is that we don't see what we're missing out on right away. It usually comes in the form of regret: Lost time, distance in our relationships, dreams and goals that we're never attempted.
Don't let perfection and "all or nothing" thinking keep you from taking those small steps forward. My three pockets of time will be spent attempting to: get in shape, organize my files, play with my littles. This type of thinking tends to creep in a lot in these areas so I need to be purposeful about that too.
Today's Action Step:
Look over your schedule and find three small pockets of time. In each one, assign a steady (not stressful) small step to help you get closer to your goals. You can even choose three of your crazy-purposeful goals from yesterday and break them up into a sort of roadmap of small steps. You can use the space in your workbook to listen them out. Schedule reminders each day if it will help you. (*Note: if you're already subscribed and are having trouble accessing the Free Resources page to download your workbook, email me for a refresher on the password! xo)
