How Much Should I Think About Little Things?

It has been a crazy period at work lately, I've found that little things have been tripping up my team. Little things in communication. Little things in our testing process. Little things in the requirements gathering. You name the phase of software development it hasn't been kind to us lately. It got me thinking about the little things and how important they are. Or are they not important? A quick Google search and it doesn't really surprise me why we get confused with the conflicting messages before us on how we should view the little things. 

  • Enjoy the little things
  • Don't sweat the small stuff
  • It's the little things that matter most
  • The devil is in the details
  • Little things can make big things happen

It seems to me that there is a balance, or a yin and yang effect when it comes to the little things. As a parent, watching my child go through major heart surgery three times in her life I can see that the little things don't matter and they do matter. It doesn't matter how many followers I have on social media or if I'm included in the planning meetings at work. The small moments of laughter, talking about nothing important and love matter tremendously.

At work we can't beat ourselves up and ridicule each other when small things are missed. But we can't dismiss them like they are unimportant. Don't sweat the small stuff, but know that the little things can make big things happen. Finding the balance of the little things is starting to become one of those key elements in life. Figure that out and you'll go far, and be pretty happy on the journey.


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