Doing Little Things for the Bigger Picture

This is going to be one of those posts I write first for myself before anyone else and I'm so glad I get to step into October braced and ready for this one change I keep running from.Doing little things - one after the other.My manager is an advocate for starting where you are with what you have. Each time I complain about not having time, he reminds me that I do have time - maybe not enough to get the whole work done but definitely enough to get me starting, even if it means doing only one little thing at a time.I'm an all or nothing kind of person. But I'm learning that I can still finish what I start and finish it well, when I spread it across a couple of days than put it away completely until "I find time to do it all at once."I put down heavy projects and tasks on my to-do list and beat myself up when I'm unable to cross them off. In beating myself up, I get discouraged and feed the feeling of defeat, that there's no way I can get the job done. I go days grunting about my busy schedules and how there's barely any time to breathe and how I'm not taking proper care of my body because I'm trying to save the world (and also, make some money)In Anne Lamont's Bird by Bird, she shares offbeat wisdom about how she overcomes obstacles that interfere with her writing flow. Here's the highlight of the story in Anne's own words:

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. [It] was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said. 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"

I want to understand the patience that comes with getting a job done well and I want to learn the sweet side of commitment that calls me to do little of the task of the big project each day until it's all done.With each failed attempt at finishing all I have to do within a few hours, I've come to the realization that there's hardly any such thing as waiting till the right time or waiting till I have enough time to start working on something.We start where we are and with what we have.For the kind of do-er and boss babe I envision myself to be, it's only prudent that I find a smart way of  accomplishing everything I have in mind to do.I hope these words can serve as a sweet reminder for when your shoulders begin to break under the weight of all the things you set out to do.You're more than capable of getting the job done. You have just the right amount of time to execute your plan. Breathe, maybe don't do them all at once. Maybe start small, with what you have (i.e. time and resources) and keep going.We stand a better chance of not choking on a meal when we take one bite after another, rather than try to stuff the whole meal into our mouths. It is possible to achieve all we've set to achieve when we practice the habit of breaking down tasks into the smallest possible action.All the little victories along the way eventually add up to crown the final win.A new month's almost here. Cheers to doing great things in reasonable portions that don't swallow us whole and STILL give room for us to live while we manage to save the world!