Personal Mantras - 43FoldersWiki

I’ve been digging the personal mantras that people have been adding to the wiki.

It’s interesting to see the different approaches and interests people have been taking; for some it’s an affirmation, for others it’s a motto or creed, and for many it appears to be a persistent reminder about the right thing to do.

My mantra—if you can call it that—is “Smaller, smaller.” It’s a principle more practical than spiritual, I suppose. I say it to myself several times a day to try and always remember that small things are easier to do than big things, and that most big things are really just a pile of small things if you break them up right. In real-world terms, “Smaller, smaller” means:

• sub-projects
• small-sized teams
• modest, achievable goals
• granular tasks, TODOs, and, yes, “next actions”
• fast deadlines
• frequent, but very short, check-in meetings
• understanding how one piece leads to the next
• making it hard to fail

There’s been very few times that “Smaller, smaller” has done me wrong. No matter how ambitious a project, idea, or problem is, there’s usually a way to break into very small pieces. Anyhow, that’s mine.

Got a personal mantra or motto of your own? Why’d you choose the one you did?

(And, no, “I believe I’ll have another beer” probably doesn’t count.)