I have one rule that has become a real salvation. I call it "three small things." It was born not from self-development books, but from life itself. I had a period when everything was piling up at me at once: work, family, meetings, promises that I made and did not have time to fulfill. I went to bed feeling as if I had not managed to do anything again.

One evening I was sitting and writing a to-do list for tomorrow. It was huge, like a phone book, and I knew in advance that I would not do half of it. Then I took a pen and crossed out everything except three items. The smallest, but necessary ones. It was something like: "buy fruit", "write one letter", "call a friend". And for the first time in a long time, I did everything I planned. The feeling of victory was disproportionately great to my “three little things.”

That’s how the rule came about. Every day, I choose three simple things that I’m sure I’ll be able to complete. The rest is a bonus. Sometimes it’s trivial: make your bed, read ten pages of a book, water a flower. But it’s these little steps that add up to a feeling of control and joy.

Over time, I realized that the three things are also about life. You don’t need to wait for global changes to feel the movement. Sometimes it’s enough to take a small step, and it already seems like the day wasn’t wasted.

Now this is my ritual. In the morning, I write three points in my phone notes. In the evening, I put check marks. And these are such simple moments of happiness — to see that I’ve succeeded.