Tiny Life Tip: Do One Small Task Every Single Day As A Gift To Future You

Treating this less like a bonus and more like an assignment has worked wonders.

As part of my ongoing efforts to be a calm, organized, shit-together human, I’ve been trying something new that’s been really helpful for me, and that you might find helpful as well: I try to do at least one thing every single day as a gift to for Future Me.

Rachel Miller

Now, I’m not talking about doing things for Far In The Future Rachel — like not buying avocado toast so I can someday buy a house, or flossing. (Though I do try to do things like that for her as well!) This strategy is more about trying to do things that will benefit Tomorrow Or Later This Week Rachel.

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Here are some of the types of little things I’ve been doing daily as a gift to Future Me that have made my life noticeably better:

• Packing my work bag for the next day before I go to bed

• Getting cash for weekend laundry while I’m out and about on Thursday and Friday

• Making sure the things I’m going to want to cook/eat/drink are thawed/cold/etc

• Before leaving work, downloading podcasts or saving articles/docs for offline access during my commute home

• Doing all my dinner dishes before bed (because let's be honest: they don't *need* to "soak" overnight)

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• Folding my clean laundry and/or putting it away immediately

• Putting a new roll of poop bags on my dog’s leash as soon as I get back in the house after using the last one

• Unloading the dishwasher as soon as the dishes are clean

• Taking out the trash/recycling on my way out in the morning (or, even better, at night after dinner)

• Making sure I replace things like hand soap, toothpaste, and olive oil before I’ve totally run out

• Ironing my clothes any time that is not the morning I’m planning to wear them

• Cleaning/tidying my desk at work on the Friday afternoon before a three-day weekend

• Cleaning and tidying my apartment before heading out of town

• Doing the bulk of my chores on Friday nights

• Blocking out a “no meetings please” time on my work calendar

• Putting a recurring event on my cal to remind me to run whatever errands might be on my list (like getting cash for laundry or buying olive oil!!)

• Showering at night

• Opening all of the windows in my apartment in the morning if I know it's going to be a nice/cool/breezy day

I’m sure a lot of you do things like this already, and I always have too! Here's what's been different for me recently:

First, I started doing things beyond what I was already doing (making my bed, taking off my makeup at night) without much effort or thought. This approach has really been about going that extra half-inch for myself.

Second, I made Gifts To Future Me a thing I consciously think to do each day instead of just letting it happen by accident or when I'm really on top of my shit. I started treating it less like a bonus and more like an assignment. ("Did Future Me put you up to this?" —me at least once a week when the voice in my head tells me to do something responsible but annoying.) Because the specific things change from day to day, they still delight and surprise Future Me, but they are also becoming more routine and natural overall. So it's really a win-win!

What about you? Do you consciously do anything daily as a gift to Future You?

Read more:

• Being Organized Is A Gift I Give Myself And Other People

• 11 Tips For When Sunday Night Rolls Around And You're Like, "WHY GOD"

• 17 Things Everyone Should Track In Their Twenties