How’s Lockdown 2.0 treating you so far?

Back on the online quizzes and banana bread? Or eyeing up the Doritos and Sauvignon Blanc by midday?

During the last lockdown I didn’t feel like I’d achieved that much. But looking back on it now, I realise I managed to:

• Finish my book
• Persuade my son to eat spinach
• Watch every Marvel movie in chronological order with my kids

And I’m pretty happy with all three of those.

But in amongst the crazy juggling act of full-time working and homeschooling, I also didn’t do a lot of things I had intended (how I laugh at my pathetically naïve optimism now!)

I didn’t get ‘mum guns’ (nicely toned Michelle Obama arms), learn how to bake the perfect cinnamon bun, or Marie Kondo my cupboards (which started to ooze their bloated contents after the first few weeks). It was just all too much.

So now we’ve hit Lockdown 2.0, I’m going to take a different approach.

I’m going to start small.

Really small.

The guns and the buns will have to wait.

The cupboards will get done, but not all at once.

This time I’m just going to tackle one shelf or draw at a time.

Maybe even just one section of a drawer.

It’ll be slow progress, but it’ll be progress.

Something every day or every other day.

And when it’s done there’s going to be a juicy reward TBC.

But all too often we want to go bigger, not smaller. We think in extremes – black and white, all or nothing. Yes or no. Pass or fail.

Go big or go home.

(Or maybe that should be ‘Go big or continue to self-isolate at home unless you have a legitimate reason to leave the house’)

And when we’re pushed for time, energy and headspace, going big feels impossible. So we end up doing nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

But small can be mighty.

One email to book a catch up with a colleague or client you haven’t spoken to in a while can lead to new opportunities.

One phone call to follow up on an email can move a stale project forward.

One LinkedIn post or story can remind your audience of the value you can bring.

Small steps are still steps.

So what are you going to tackle over the coming months in baby steps?