Slow and steady

I had a giant task to tackle this weekend. It involved a tall ladder, a 15-foot-long concrete beam, sad paint, and a host of scraping utensils. Even after marinating overnight in a chemical coulis, that paint refused to let go without a fight. And because the beam is about 12 feet off the ground, I had to stand on the “DANGER Do not stand or sit” part of the ladder, while also contorting by body into odd arcs to reach all the places that needed to be scraped. Every time I looked at the entirety of the beam, it seemed to stretch longer and longer. I complained to myself about my sore arms. I sighed a lot. And then I reminded myself of that Chinese proverb: “A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.”

Organizing projects can often feel the same way as that beam felt to me – endless and exhausting. But if you can find even 5 minutes a day to dedicate to the task, you’ll find yourself slowly and surely making progress toward your goal. Don’t even look at or think about the whole project. Just choose one thing to focus on for your 5 minutes – maybe collect all the trash, or put all the dirty clothes in the hamper, or put all the bills into a pile – and set a timer. If you get to 5 minutes and want to keep going, then you go!

As soon as I was able to make myself focus on just the small section of gross paint right in front of me, I could work hard, celebrate my small success, and then move on to the next bit. Snacks helped too. And now, the beam is beautifully paint free, and yes – truly beaming!