Have you ever been driving when a small piece of gravel gets flung up by the vehicle in front of you, hitting your windshield and creating a tiny ‘ding’ in the glass? The best thing to do is get that small imperfection fixed immediately; have it filled in with whatever magic polymer the auto-glass companies use. Because what happens if we ignore it and let it sit? It grows. That little ‘ding’ is like a seed in the glass that sprouts roots – cracks slowly spread across your windshield until you realize the entire thing must be replaced.

This is much like letting things lapse at your workplace. Maybe there’s something you keep putting off, thinking it’s not a big deal, or it’s sort of a pain, and you’ll get to it later. It’s just a little ‘ding’, right? But if you keep ignoring it, that little ‘ding’ can grow into a big problem.

Tackling the little things before they grow into big problems is one way to keep your job less stressful and more productive.