Taking Care of the Little Things

We all have those insurmountable decisions and tasks in our lives. Sometimes you have one once in a while, then sometimes you may have them piling on top of each other. What do you do, and how do you do it?

I like the following quote from Dale Carnegie in response to these questions. “Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones tend to take care of themselves.”

Every big job can be broken down into smaller jobs. Completing just one of these motivates and moves you forward to doing the next and the next and before you know it, the larger task is completed. However, if you wring your hands in despair and don’t get started – guess what – you’ll be left wringing your hands and nothing else will be done.

Break down what needs to be done – I like to write lists and prioritize the things which need to be tackled first. For me, the things I least want to do are done first thing in the morning. Once that is done, all the other things seem easy. If I attempt it the other way around, and ‘put off’ the thing I least want to do, it stays in the back of my mind all day, and I get less done.

The smaller things in life don’t just relate to ‘work’. By giving  your best to whatever your day has in store can make dramatic changes in your life. Do you give your best to the little things in your home, to your partner, to your family, to your colleagues, to yourself or are you so focused on those big jobs that nothing else matters?

This also applies to the treatment of people who seemingly are “not important” in your life. When I was in business, it was surprising how a person who I was having a meeting with was so gracious and said all the right things to me, and then spoke to the waitress or the office girl with such disrespect.   I would rather have the business of someone who did “the little jobs well” than work with someone who only focused on the big.

How does this quote have a bearing on your life at the moment, and what you are able to do about the ‘little jobs’ you are about to face today?