
Sometimes doing a small thing can be extremely satisfying, out of all proportion to how easy it is: placing a jigsaw puzzle piece into the right slot, wiping your phone screen spotless, returning a tool to its designated hook, or making a nice diagonal cut across a lovingly-made sandwich.
This simple kind of satisfaction seems to come haphazardly. Much of the time, you’re barreling through the day, and the tiny actions that make up life mostly seem to be in the way: pushing through a turnstile hoping it doesn’t catch awkwardly, stuffing your phone charger’s prongs into the outlet, trying to get a stack of printer paper to finally settle into the plastic tray.
No matter what your day looks like, life is ultimately made up of a zillion tiny actions: small movements of the hand, foot, eyes, or mind. Whether these actions feel like round pegs slotting into perfect holes, or bushes that scrape you as you push past them, depends less on what the actions are than on how you perform them. If the mind is looking past the current action, to when you’re through the turnstile, or when the printer light is green again, then the action is basically a little pain in the ass. If the mind habitually regards small, necessary actions that way, then life is mostly made of tiny pains in the ass.
Those little actions feel better and more rewarding when the mind stays with the action itself, rather than fixate on what’s just beyond it. If you’re scrambling around in the junk drawer to find the scissors, life feels mildly annoying until you find them, because you just want to get the scissors in your hand and go off to the next thing. If instead you open the drawer, and treat the hunt for scissors as a tiny mission that currently sits at the center of your life, it feels just fine to look for the scissors, and pretty great when you find them. It takes only a very slight effort to do it this way instead – aim your attention at the act itself, instead of beyond — but there’s much less friction and annoyance involved, and something quite satisfying (rather than merely relieving) about completing it.
Essentially, you’re taking the little act that’s before you, and making a tiny, focused mission out of it. Find the scissors in this drawer. Put the broom back on its hook. Pour myself a glass of water. You put a little imaginary wall around the act, making it into a small, two-to-ten-second arc in which you’re concerned only with the tiny mission.
Then you watch this little mission unfold to its end, which only takes a few seconds. You watch your hands fold the towel, or button up the shirt, or lift the faucet lever. You notice any obvious aesthetic details, like the bubbles forming and dispersing as you fill the glass, and the “chhhhh” sound of the running water.
Performing the tiny mission is only a matter of taking a real interest in witnessing what’s happening here, which only takes a few seconds. Be here for The Filling of the Glass. Be here for The Hanging of the Jacket. Then, tiny mission completed, you carry on with your day.
You don’t need to think about it or be fussy about it. Don’t worry about doing it slowly, or “mindfully.” Your body already knows how to do the thing. Your job is just to watch this work unfold to its satisfying conclusion, like a curious little film clip. It’s so short you won’t get bored.
I realize this sounds completely unnecessary. These sorts of actions are so tiny and easy that they don’t require much attention at all. It’s true: making a tiny mission of these events is unnecessary — if all you care about is getting the thing done. But the quality of your life also matters, and you can get quite a bit out of ~3-10 seconds of intentional, interested action than just tumbling through the task via inertia. It’s hard to articulate the rewards exactly, because they’re subtle, aesthetic, and decidedly right-brained — maybe even “spiritual” if you don’t mind the word. If nothing else, inserting the occasional tiny mission is mildly satisfying, and makes you feel less rushed and preoccupied.
You do have to keep these missions really tiny, so that they’re easy to stay with from beginning to end. We’re talking about actions on the order of putting something in a cupboard or on a shelf, returning a tool to its hook, sweeping along one edge of the kitchen floor, donning a hat or a pair of gloves, wiping a spot of grime from the stovetop, powering off an appliance, or writing a date and time on a sticky note. Even something like brushing your teeth, or taking out the garbage, is too long and complex to be a tiny mission – it needs to unfold over seconds.
(You can take a tiny piece of a larger task though, like the act of depositing the bag in the trash bin, or applying the toothpaste, and make it a tiny mission.)
The key is to take an interest in watching the tiny mission unfold – literally seeing it to completion. Get curious. Say you’re turning on a light switch; watch this event happen as though you’ve never seen it before. Pay attention. Be quiet so you can hear.
You might argue that you already know what happens when you turn on a light switch, so you don’t need to watch it happen. Watch it anyway. Let the details emerge. Push the switch, hear the “clunk” or “fwap” sound, or whatever it ends up being, and watch the room become its illuminated version. Mission complete.
The look and feel of this tiny event might be slightly different that you expect. It doesn’t matter that you know already know what light switches do.
When you pull open the cupboard to put the dish away, enjoy the reveal. Notice the sound the dish makes when you put it on the stack. You can totally do this. Seeing the tiny mission arrive at the “done” state is curiously satisfying. All your work – everything you draw, cut, fill, mix, type, form, fold, crumble, straighten, put away – looks right back at you afterward, if you pay attention.
You don’t need to tiny-mission-ize every little thing – that will quickly send you into thoughts about tedium and obligation. Just pick actions here and there, see them through, and notice how the doing looks, feels, and sounds. Don’t make a big deal of it, don’t think about it, just watch the little thing get done. Then move on.
There’s a certain delicate magic to be found here that I think most people can tune into. The tiny mission seems to stimulate some completeness-seeking part of the human brain. It can feel something like enjoying a perfect line of poetry, or a cinematic moment. Once you get a hint of this magic, you can find it naturally in smaller and smaller acts, down to glancing at a clock or a page number, or making the single pencil-stroke that forms the backbone of a capital B. Look closely enough at life, and it’s magic all the way down.
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{ 31 Comments }
Thank you David. I like this tiny mission concept as a way of staying focused. If one does it on these small things regularly, then it becomes easier to focus on larger projects. Good thoughts as always from you.
Cheers,
Michael
This is how to live a well intentioned life. Every small action, the 3 – 5 second task, are all part and parcel of that specific larger task and of that particular day. Stringing these days in to weeks and months gets us through the years of our life.
One could be in a dull stupor thinking how one’s life is wasted. Conversely, one could inherit the words of this post, and instead revel in the millions of tiny wins that each and everyone has during their life. It all comes down to where one wishes to place one’s attention, i.e. with intention or without?
Thanks for these words David
this article(thank you) reminds me once more there is no past or future.
the past holds us in sentiment and longing,the future unknown and sometimes fearful. it is THIS moment and this and this and this moment where life unfolds. it’s something i’ve come to be more aware of as we’re collectively being shoved into ‘the future’ and in response i have deliberately slowed my days down. reducing my attention to clocks, living fully in the season and the day.
Great article on how to stay ‘present’…and for a busy multi-tasker woman that gets some stuff done halfway, how to SLOW DOWN! : )
Yes Tracey! The hard part remains deciding what needs attention, a bit like a maniacally gifted concert orchestra maestro, we need to know what to boost, what to show more of and what to pause for a bit. It comes with a lot of practice and willful exercise. Very fun if you start the process.
Thank you, David. I practiced this in real-time by reading one paragraph of this post. That was too long, so I reduced to one sentence, then eventually one word, and then a single letter and finally the ending punctuation. :)
You can dial this to any resolution. If you start getting distracted during the tiny mission, it’s not tiny enough :)
Loved this essay, David. Thank you. Understanding that life is a series of tiny missions is quite profound. Plus life becomes immeasurably more fulfilling and enjoyable when we slow and savor the details. To your point that taking out the trash is too big to be a tiny mission in the spirit of your essay, I do think we can find satisfaction in “tiny projects” too.
Yes, you can apply the same principle to larger things. It does change the landscape a bit though, because you are going to lose awareness during them if they take longer than a few seconds. This is ok — you just have to come back — but it does become a slightly different practice.
What perfect timing for this post. I’d been trying to slow down and do the small things with love. it’s become my mantra, do it with love, do it with love… I have a tendency to flail about, throw things, drop things, smack myself into sharp edges that I’m absolutely certain weren’t there before. Slowing down lessens the flailing and opens up tiny little vignettes in the speeding frames of life. How beautiful things can be when we pay attention!
The flailing and slamming and other high-inertia movements that the body does are a great sign that you’re just barreling through again. They can become a great reminder to start doing some tiny missions.
David, this is magic, thank you. I smiled as I read it, and I know there will be lots of tiny missions enriching my life from now on.
This one was an “aha” moment. I am usually irritated by the small paths to getting something done. Impatience is my middle name. But I have been studying Stoicism and the dichotomy of control for over a year now, learning to be in the now, and being more mindful, realizing the Universe doesn’t care, rather than being against me. This rumination will be very helpful in finding perspective in life. Thank you.
This is really beautiful, David… thank you! I wonder if this basic concept is the whole point of the Japanese Tea Ceremony – something I’ve never really understood, but would love to try.
I think this is entirely the point of the Japanese tea ceremony. One. Step. At. A. Time.
I think so, and probably rituals in general. Rituals are meant to bring your full attention to simple actions, to instill their importance in the participants.
Love this! I’m adding saying out loud “I’m picking up my coffee cup. I’m taking a sip.” Soon I will say “I’m pressing Submit.” For me, saying it out loud uses more of my brain.
Although it’s not required for a tiny mission, there is something really powerful about saying your intention and then doing the thing.
I came across a document a few months ago that describes doing exactly this, as a way of regaining your trust in yourself, by practicing saying your intention, and then doing the thing. “I’m going to clean this counter fully.” “I’m going to get back to Fred’s email right now.” It’s meant for people with ADHD but I think anyone could benefit.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZDV-0WS8DrBDebF3fvUFj9aXQvLnwFc7optFgL1MpFk/mobilebasic
Absolutely loved this David! And reading what everyone else has written and their perspectives etc, especially to slow down and be in less of a rush.
I often use the little missions as an excuse to procrastinate and not do the main task. But making them little wins and worthy of their own merit changes the mindset and provides satisfaction for each one.
They do feel like little wins, and that tiny victory feeling is such a motivation boost, whatever it is you do next.
This is great! I came across your website recently and subscribed to your newsletter. Just the sort of topics I want to think more about. Going to also join your Patreon.
Welcome Andy!
Something I have been telling myself to do but not as nicely articulated. I
am doing this for the things I like already. Now I need to mobilise patience to apply to all small tasks. Nice!
I decided to try applying this tiny mission approach to “inhale” and “exhale” while following my breath, and I found the resulting practice to be quite focused and enjoyable. Thank you for writing about it.
Even though the action can be really tiny (inhale, look at the clock, push a button) it does immediately generate a noticeable amount of concentration. When you string together many tiny missions, this quality builds.
I read this post today. It turns out that this is the day I needed it. Thank you, David.
I appreciate this essay because it is the second logical part of my discipline to taking the time to put things away correctly and precisely.
While my husband sometimes finds my inclination towards perfection to be tedious and mysterious, I do on occasion appreciate opening a cabinet to find the sheets neatly folded and stacked.
Great article! Easy steps to reinforce and practice becoming better at being present!
Hi David, how are you? Thank you for this incredible article. I just discovered this newsletter and I’m loving it. Any good articles about relationships that you recommend? Greetings from Boyaca, Colombia.
Loved this article! And you come up with the best examples!!
EXACTLY. The doing vs. the done. Bravo!