Make your bed in the morning
A small task with a massive impact
I’m pretty sure most people have seen the video of US admiral William H. McRaven’s graduation speech (or at least parts of it), where he’s saying “if you want to change the world, start by making your bed”. He goes on to say that by doing that, you have completed the first task of the day and will encourage you to do another task. Making your bed will reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter. And if you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never be able to do the big things right.
Obviously, I don’t need to state how great this speech is. Our days are based on accomplishing one task after another, so everyone can relate to this. We’ll ignore the debate about not making your bed directly because of bacteria etc. here, that’s not the point.
How you do one thing is how you do everything
Besides the task-accomplishing part of this, there is another quote that can add to this point:
“How you do one thing is how you do everything”
Is your work desk cluttered or clean? Do you do the dishes right away or is your sink full of dishes? Is your car full of takeaway food boxes, empty bottles, etc., or is it clean? In most cases, the answer is the same for all of these. How you do one thing is how you do everything.
This is not just about how clean your home/surroundings are. Because you do everything the same way, that means that you are unorganized in your work, you don’t acknowledge the small things in your relationship, etc.
Studies show that clutter also has other impacts: increased stress & anxiety levels, difficulty focusing, decreased productivity, procrastination, and lower quality of life, to name a few.
How you do one thing is how you do everything. So start making your bed!
