Making Progress on One Important Thing a Day

Do you ever feel like there are never enough hours in a day to keep up with the garden, harvest, homestead, and household responsibilities? If you’re looking for a management tip to help you accomplish more and feel better about it, here’s one: focus on making progress on one important thing each day, your top priority project.

Instead of making a huge to-do list or big New Year’s resolutions, concentrate on one thing a day that is your top priority. That sounds simple enough, but does it work to accomplish a lot? It sure does. Primarily during busy periods, it provides a sense of accomplishment. There, of course, will always be a million other things to do on the homestead. But that one thing stands out and motivates. Try it out!

For years, I have been using this technique in various situations without realizing that it is a scientifically proven method. One morning, a video suggestion came up on my YouTube channel, including this short insert of a speech: “Focus on one thing a day! Mel Robbins. The one-and-a-half-minute video is worth watching. Mel Robbins is the author of “The 5 Second Rule” book and The 5 Second Journal.

The Progress Principle

I learned that being focused on an important thing every day is called ‘The Progress Principle’. To feel that you are making progress on something that matters and makes you happy, successful, and fulfilled. The nice thing about it is that you do not have to be a powerhouse pushing forward five things at once to have progress. By having small wins, you can feel the sense of accomplishment and the confidence to get things done. And it is not just a feeling; the results are measurable.

We are most effective when we sense we are making progress and getting things done. Making progress on one important thing a day does precisely that. As a result, to focus on one thing a day is empowering.

Throughout the day, we often complete many tasks, but many are routine and lack excitement. Additionally, some tasks may be reactive rather than proactive, which can cause stress. While we may not be able to avoid reactive tasks, we can choose one project that is important to us and that we genuinely want to pursue. By doing so, we will be more fulfilled and motivated.

Find the one important thing a day

Days can be busy and slip by quickly with everyday tasks like laundry, making dinner, and doing homesteading chores. During the summer months, gardening tasks can consume all the extra time. Even when there is always something to do, it can feel like there is no progress.

Looking at all the tasks and projects that need to be done, and it can be a long list, what is the one item that would matter to you the most? The one that would make you feel accomplished? The top priority. It does not mean that it has to be outstanding; in fact, it is often the most natural thing to handle. “Serve the moment in front of you, but do it intentionally. Pause and let intuition guide you. Work on that one project preferably first thing in the morning.

In The 5 Second Journal, Mel Robbins suggests writing down why this top project matters to help us stay focused on the project we want to accomplish. Now that you know your top priority, find one action you can take today.

One important thing a day can also be something you really do not want to do, but it still needs to be done. As “The FlyLady, Marla Cilley would say: One can do almost anything for 15 minutes a day! Set your timer and work on it; if you do it every day, you might be surprised by how quickly it’s completed. Read more about the FlyLady system to support homesteading here.

If we consistently take actions aligned with our goals, we will see progress and feel empowered.

Getting things done one thing at a time

During the summer on the homestead, my primary focus is growing, harvesting, and preserving food. These tasks cannot be completed in a single day, as plants also take time to grow and ripen. Nature teaches us that progress is made gradually, day by day.

I want to share some examples from our homestead regarding growing food. You may find further inspiration on the topic in our article titled “Gardening for Weak, Sick, and Lazy Gardeners“. I am uncertain whether we fall under the category of weak or lazy gardeners, as we prefer to take the easy route.

During the spring, planting is a top priority. It’s important not to plant everything at once, but to follow the “one thing a day” principle and spread it out over time. This will also prevent the need to harvest everything at once, making the task more manageable. Read more about it in the article ” When to plant what.

When weeding, it’s helpful to break the task down into manageable pieces. For example, you could focus on one garden bed per day or aim to fill one bucket with weeds. You can read more about how to deal with garden weeds.

The same is true for harvesting. It is advisable to harvest a smaller, more manageable amount of produce daily and either use it or preserve it. Here are five ways to preserve food. Bringing in a large harvest can make processing nearly impossible. Our focus is not on competition or sharing pictures on social media. Our priority is producing food, rather than seeking recognition.

For example, when raspberries are in season, picking and freezing them for winter is often my “one thing a day” to achieve my goal of harvesting and preserving food. Our raspberry patch produces about an ice cream bucket of raspberries a day at peak times. That’s not much one would think to feel any progress in storing enough food for the winter. But by harvesting and preserving them daily during the raspberry season, we pick and preserve most of the raspberries we consume throughout the year. And we eat raspberries almost every day.

Canning is also a great way to make progress every day. By filling one canner with five jars per day, we can process 50 jars of home-canned food in just 10 days. We also offer many canning recipes that make about five jars. Being consistent pays off, even if you are not able to preserve much food at the moment.

Bigger projects can be divided not just by days but also by years. If you start just one garden bed a year, in 5 years, you will have five garden beds. Soon, your entire yard will be turned into a garden.

An effective way to complete tasks is to focus on achieving one important thing each day. To boost your productivity, you can start by selecting one task each day. Please share in the comments section how this strategy could affect your progress.

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