One of my sister’s friend gave her paint by numbers as a gift. After work, she would spend 10-15 minutes on it as a form of relaxation. After 3-4 weeks, she had a beautiful painting done and she beamed with pride. She is now working on her third painting, and it’s exciting to see how the image slowly come to life.
And then I thought, this is a good reminder of not undermining the value of putting in small amounts of effort consistently. A day will come when it will all add up and pay off.
Often times, I put off working on a project if I know I only have a few minutes to devote to it. While it is certainly true that bigger efforts can deliver faster results, so will small consistent efforts. Let’s take reading for example, I really want to improve and expand my english vocabulary and conversation skills. And I believe I can accomplish that by reading a lot, especially fiction books. Because fiction will have daily conversations in them and I will be able to pick up the words and expressions of native speakers. It would be amazing if I have time to sit for half a day and just be immersed in reading but I don’t have that luxury yet, especially now that I have so many interests to pursue.
Let me try what my sister is doing. After work, I will spend 10-15 minutes reading. I should have a few books read by the end of the year.
We’ll see. Aja!
A Little Bit at a Time (ChatGPT version)
My sister received a paint-by-numbers kit as a gift from a friend. After work, she would sit down for just 10–15 minutes and paint as a way to relax. After 3–4 weeks, she finished a beautiful piece of art. She was so proud of it—and now she’s already working on her third painting. It’s fun to watch the image slowly come to life day after day.
Seeing her made me realize something important: we often underestimate the power of small, consistent effort. A few minutes may feel like nothing in the moment, but over time, it all adds up. One day, you look back and see how far you’ve come.
I’m guilty of avoiding projects when I feel like I only have a few minutes to spare. I tell myself it’s not enough time to make progress. But the truth is, small efforts can create big results—just as surely as big efforts do.
Take reading, for example. I really want to improve my English vocabulary and conversation skills. I know I can do that by reading more, especially fiction. Fiction is full of natural, everyday conversations, which means I can pick up the expressions native speakers actually use. It would be amazing to spend half a day just reading, but that’s not realistic right now—not with everything else I’m trying to build.
So I’m going to try what my sister does. After work, I’ll read for 10–15 minutes. If I stay consistent, I should finish a few books by the end of the year.
Let’s see how far these small steps take me.
Aja!
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