The Power of Small Things
Written on August 18th, 2026
Why the 1 Item Things to Do List?
Look at the image at the top of this page.
There is a lot going on in that little room.
The books.
The paintbrushes.
The flowers.
The coffee.
The blanket.
The sunlight.
But look at the yellow notepad.
It says:
THINGS TO DO TODAY:
1. BEGIN.
That’s it.
No twenty-item list.
No color-coded project plan.
No elaborate morning routine.
Just begin.
I wanted that little note to be the heart of The Power of Small Things because I know how easy it is to look at everything that needs to be done and immediately feel like you need to do all of it.
Today.
Before lunch.
Preferably before your coffee gets cold.
We have somehow convinced ourselves that progress only counts if it is substantial.
If I can’t finish the project, why start?
If I can’t clean the whole house, why clean one room?
If I can’t completely change my routine, why change anything?
If I can’t figure out the whole plan, how can I possibly take the first step?
But that little note disagrees.
Begin.
You don’t have to know what step twenty-seven looks like.
You don’t have to have the entire staircase illuminated.
You just need enough light for the step directly in front of you.
Psalm 119:105 says God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
A lamp doesn’t light up the entire road.
It gives you enough light to keep walking.
I think there is something comforting about that.
We don’t always need a five-year plan.
Sometimes we need five minutes.
Five minutes to make the phone call.
Five minutes to clear the counter.
Five minutes to open the document.
Five minutes to put on our shoes and walk outside.
Five minutes to finally start the thing we have been thinking about for six months.
The image isn’t asking you to become a completely different person.
It is asking you to begin.
So if you arrived today feeling overwhelmed by the size of everything in front of you, forget the giant list for a minute.
Look at the yellow note.
What is one thing?
Not ten.
One.
Do that.
Then see what comes next.
You don’t have to finish the mountain today.
You just have to take the first step.