May 18, 2025
Here’s a confession: I’ve stared at my to-do list like it was written in ancient runes and thought, “Well… not today.” Not because the things weren’t important, but because they felt too big, too tangled, too much. And when a task seems like a mountain, it’s hard to find the right place to put your first step.
This is where the magic of small tasks comes in—not just as a productivity hack, but as a mindset shift. Break something down into little pieces and suddenly you’re not scaling Everest, you’re walking a trail. Step by step. Breath by breath. And crucially: checkbox by checkbox.
I’ve always liked writing checklists. There’s something reassuring about getting the swirl of tasks out of my head and onto paper. Once they’re there, I don’t have to carry them around. And carrying them—mentally juggling all those loose ends—takes more strength than we think. It’s like holding a backpack full of bricks you never put down. The moment I write them down, I get some of that energy back. Energy I can actually use to get something done instead of just thinking about how much there is to do.
And I’ll admit something a little embarrassing: sometimes I add things to my checklist that I’ve already done—just so I can check them off. Yes, really. It’s a little silly, but that satisfying checkmark gives me momentum. It says, “Look, something’s already happened. Let’s keep going.”
The Myth of the Perfect Start
We sometimes get stuck waiting for the right conditions to begin. A clear afternoon, a full tank of motivation, the perfect plan. But those days are unicorns. The truth is, most progress happens in less-than-perfect moments, with half-formed ideas and a coffee that’s already gone cold.
For me, this came into sharp focus recently while thinking about a home remodeling project that has been dragging on for... let’s just say longer than I care to admit. It’s the living room and laundry room—spaces I use every day and yet still manage to ignore when it comes to actual progress. Why? Because every time a weekend or a few free hours rolls around, I look at the job and think, “No way I can finish this today.” And because I know I can’t check that big box—“Remodel Room”—I end up doing something else entirely. Something easier. Something finishable.
Which, in a way, is smart. My instinct isn’t wrong. The problem is how I’ve defined “the task.” I haven’t taken my own advice. I haven’t broken it down. I haven’t written the checklist. So I keep facing a big, blurry blob of work instead of manageable pieces. And unsurprisingly, nothing much happens.
Small is Doable
Here’s what’s beautiful about small actions: they lower the bar enough for you to walk over it. No pole vaulting necessary. When something feels manageable, you’re far more likely to actually do it. And once it’s done, you’re no longer in the same place—you’ve moved. That matters.
Reading The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande years ago drove this home for me. That book made a surprisingly strong case for something as humble as a list—not just for grocery runs or morning routines, but for performing surgery, flying planes, and managing complexity in general. There’s something powerful about externalizing knowledge—breaking action into its components so you can work with it instead of just around it.
And more recently, I’ve been reading Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman, which gives a sobering but strangely comforting reminder of how finite our time really is. The title is a nod to the typical human lifespan, which, when expressed in weeks, feels both short and strangely countable. It’s made me think more about prioritizing doable things. Not just what’s urgent, or even important, but what’s realistically possible. What could I actually accomplish today?
The Satisfaction of a Checkmark
There’s also a weird, almost childlike joy in checking something off a list. Even a tiny thing. Especially a tiny thing. It’s a physical act that tells your brain: look! You did something! Progress is real!
So lean into that. Write things on your list that you know you’ll finish. Write down things you already did. I do. It's not cheating—it's encouragement. And encouragement is fuel.
The Contour of Progress
In the Contours of Tomorrow philosophy, we say that the future is shaped—carved, even—by today's actions. That’s not just poetic. It’s practical. Every little bit counts. Every gesture matters. The world isn’t changed in great waves so much as in the persistent ripple of tiny drops. Small doesn’t mean insignificant. It means probable. Possible. Likely.
And when you make the small doable thing your starting point, you don’t just inch closer to your goals—you make them real. They begin to live outside your imagination. They gain edges and corners and momentum. You become a person who does, not just dreams. And that changes things. Including you.
One Thing Today
So maybe the invitation is this: do one small thing today that moves you forward. Not the whole project. Not the ten-year plan. Just a step. Let it be simple. Let it be easy. Let it be yours.
One screw turned. One shelf cleared. One checklist made. One box checked.
Tomorrow’s contour starts here.
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