Psychology And Wellness: Completing Small Tasks is Good for Your Mental Health!
There’s an old piece of basic help in the mental health field — aimed at inspiring people and making them feel better about their lives — which is the suggestion that you should always make your bed every morning after you get up.
This has absolutely nothing to do with being a ”neatnik” or being obsessive-compulsive, and everything to do with setting the overall tone for your day by finishing something.
It can be difficult to motivate ourselves sometimes, but one of the ways we can improve our desire to get things done is to make it easier to having GOTTEN things done!
The simple act of making your bed might sound a bit like ”psychological trickery” but it serves a very real purpose: The moment your brain recognizes even a very simple task as having been done, it releases a small dose of the dopamine neurotransmitter… which is basically what makes us feel good about things.
And because we like how that feels, it also makes us more inspired to do other things!
The Value of Microtasking
”Microtasking” is — as the name suggests — the idea that you can break your to-do list into very small parts.
What it is not is the process of only choosing to do very small things.
The two are different in the sense that the former addresses all the tasks you might need to take on, while the latter tends to leave you just having done ”the small easy things” while all your major projects are left undone.
Consider, for a moment, a huge project like ”paint the house,” which is nothing like the tiny task of making your bed.
For pretty much anyone, the idea of having to paint the house might induce a sense of feeling overwhelmed.
So why not forget about painting the house, and instead break the task into painting each individual room? Moreover, you break the task down even further into ”paint the bedroom trim” and ”paint the bedroom ceiling” and ”paint the bedroom closet” and so on. You’re still working on your ”big” project, but you are breaking it into distinct and definable tasks you can cross off your to-do list, leaving you with a sense that you have accomplished something!
If you have the kind of personality that easily feels overwhelmed, try to think about the size task that doesn’t seem daunting. That will be a guide in helping you break your big important jobs into manageable chunks. You may discover that you can handle ten minutes, or it may be two hours; it will vary from person to person.
Regardless, the important thing is to get things done, so you can get the good feelings that go with completing something and thus feeling inspired to do something else.
Thanks for reading, and Bright Blessings to all!
You are not alone! (Graphic is our own)
The White Light Express Mission Statement:
Since October 2001, the mission of the White Light Express has been to offer healing and transformation through focused positive intention, meditation and prayer. Right Thought is the first step toward Right Action and consciousness. We believe that “holding the vibration” is a profound task and our divine destiny.
We appreciate you following us and upvoting if you feel moved to do so — we also really appreciate comments and feedback! If you enjoyed this post and think others might enjoy reading it, please give it a re-steem! We love you already, because across all the myriad beliefs we hold, Love IS the answer!
In addition to our blog here on Steemit, you can also find us on the White Light Express web site, on our verified Facebook page and on our twitter feed.