Small Steps, Big Chaos: How to Keep Moving When Life is Throwing Chairs

Life has a real knack for showing up at your door with a flaming bag of too much. It never asks, “Hey, are you ready for three major life events, an extra project at work, and a surprise dental bill all at once?” No. It just throws you into the deep end, hands you a pool noodle, and says, Good luck.

And when you’re staring at the mountain of “stuff that needs to be done,” it’s so easy to freeze. This is where the secret weapon comes in — small steps.
Not the picture-perfect, “I run 5km every morning and make smoothies out of kale and my enemies” version. I’m talking about the gritty, unglamorous, “I put socks in the laundry basket instead of on the floor, and now I’m a champion” version.

Small steps are how you make progress when everything feels impossible.

1. Start With the Easiest Thing

When the to-do list is roughly the size of a mid-tier novel, your brain will want to pick the hardest thing first… and then avoid it all day. Don’t. Pick the low-hanging fruit.

• Send that two-sentence email.

• Throw away the empty chip bag on the counter.

• Schedule the appointment that’s been lurking on your mental list since last year.

You’re building momentum. Think of it like rolling a boulder—first you have to nudge it into motion before you can push it anywhere worth going.

2. Break It Down Until It Feels Silly

“Clean the garage” is a huge task. “Find the broom” is not. The trick is to break the Big Scary Thing into absurdly small steps. Steps so small you almost feel embarrassed to write them down.

Example:

1. Open the garage door.

2. Move one box to the left.

3. Throw away the ancient, cracked bucket that’s been there since 2013.

Each small win gets you closer without triggering the “this is too much” shutdown.

3. Forget Perfect Conditions

Waiting until you feel ready or have more time is basically procrastination in a nicer outfit. Perfect conditions rarely happen.

• You can fold laundry while watching Netflix.

• You can plan your week while waiting in the school pickup line.

• You can write the first three lines of a report in between calls.

If you wait for the “right moment,” you’ll still be waiting when they’re handing out retirement cake.

4. The 10-Minute Rule

Tell yourself, “I’m just going to work on this for 10 minutes.” This tricks your brain into starting.

• Worst case? You stop after 10 minutes and you’re still ahead.

• Best case? You get into the zone and keep going.

This works for everything—exercise, cleaning, tackling your inbox. Even making that dreaded phone call to customer service.

5. Count Every Win (Yes, Even the Dumb Ones)

Did you:

• Take your meds today? ✔

• Water the plant before it turned into botanical jerky? ✔

• Finally change the dead batteries in the TV remote? ✔

These count. Seriously. Progress isn’t always about the big stuff. Celebrating the small, mundane wins keeps you from feeling like you’re stuck in place.

6. Embrace the Messy Middle

The road from “total chaos” to “somewhat under control” is not linear. Some days you’ll feel like a productivity wizard. Other days, your proudest achievement will be microwaving lunch without it exploding.

That’s normal. The messy middle is where most of life happens. Don’t beat yourself up for not hitting 100% every single day—you’re still moving forward, and that matters.

7. Build Micro-Rituals

Little rituals keep your day on track without feeling like work. Things like:

• Making your bed as soon as you get up.

• Doing a quick 2-minute tidy before bed.

• Writing tomorrow’s top 3 priorities before shutting your laptop.

These anchor points create the illusion of structure, which helps keep you grounded when everything else is chaos.

8. Practice Ruthless Prioritization

Some things just don’t need to get done today—or at all. It’s okay to ask yourself:

• “Does this actually matter?”

• “What happens if I don’t do it?”

• “Can I just… delete this from my life?”

Half the weight you’re carrying is probably made of “shoulds” that no one actually cares about. Drop them.

9. Celebrate Without Guilt

That thing you did? It’s enough. You don’t have to justify resting, enjoying yourself, or doing something silly after being productive.

• Took a shower? Read a book chapter.

• Sent the scary email? Make a coffee and scroll memes.

• Finally finished that report? Take yourself out for fries.

Celebrating keeps you from feeling like life is just one endless conveyor belt of tasks.

The Bottom Line

Small steps don’t always look impressive. They won’t get you a standing ovation. But they build momentum. They stop you from stalling out. And they add up in a way that, six months from now, makes you look back and think, Wow, I actually did a lot.

Next time life starts throwing chairs, remember—you don’t need to fix everything at once. You just need to take the next small, doable step. And then the next. And the next. Until one day, you look up and realize you’re no longer drowning—you’re swimming.