What if the way you do one thing is the way you do everything?

“I’ll clean the kitchen counters later…”

“I’ll make the bed tomorrow…”

“I’ll file away the mail soon…”

I used to do this all the time—get my house 85% clean but then leave a few loose ends.

It didn’t seem to matter so much. My house was “clean enough.”

And then one day, I sat with the question that my coach, Rich Litvin, had shared a few years ago:

What if the way you do one thing is the way you do everything?

I immediately realized that the way I never really completed cleaning my house was an exact mirror of the way I never fully completed many tasks in my life.

Personally and professionally.

The call(s) I didn’t make.

The book(s) I never finished writing (85% finished, of course).

The “I love you” text that I thought about sending but did not take the “extra” time to actually send.

After sitting with these discoveries, I commit to complete my tasks, to close their loops, to go the extra 15%.

In order to do so, I need to SLOW DOWN and take the extra minute(s) to complete each task.

The extra minute to clean every nook and cranny of my stove.

The extra minute to send the text.

The extra minute to make that call that could change my day.

The extra minute to edit the book(s) that helps no one when it is sitting on my computer.

I imagine that taking that extra minute(s) and actually completing our tasks invites unexpected outcomes that are a million times more magical than sitting in front of netflix.

What about you? How does the way you do certain things mirror the way you do everything?