Line by Line - Verse 63, Line 7

and does things that would become great while they are small.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Achieve greatness in little things.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Achieve large tasks through the smallest tasks
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Get the job done
before it becomes a chore.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

I think most of us know what it's like to find ourselves way behind in our work. The stacks of paper start to pile up and the enormity of what needs to get done causes what I like to call brain freeze.

Which pile do I address first? What should I tackle second? There is so much to do that we spin our wheels trying to decide a course of action. As we sit there stymied, more work begins to pile up and the internal (or external) pressure to get moving builds.

The way I extricate myself from such situations is to divert my attention from looking at the whole thing. I arbitrarily dive into one pile and work to clear it, then I move onto the next one. By focusing on the small tasks needed to complete major undertakings, I'm able to get moving and, before I know it, I find I've made great headway.

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