When you’re four hours into a project that you thought would take only one, and the blister on your palm grows bigger with every twist of the screwdriver you’re using because you forgot to charge the battery to the power drill, it’s hard to remember the confidence and eager optimism you had when you started. Or you might send a text to your wife, “I’m up on the roof and I can’t get down,” Then, with no response and ominous thunder clouds building to the west, you fully grasp the urgency of your situation and you decide, I’d better call, hoping she hasn’t turned off her phone.
Welcome to the modern world. You’re working beyond your capacity on a project that’s taking more time and energy than you expected, just like the rest of us. But, sorry, The Laws of Small Projects won’t help you become more proficient at do-it-yourself projects, nor save you from your unrealistic ambitions or getting sucked into other people’s priorities. This is not another how-to book. For that, you need to look elsewhere: to the overabundance of instructive resources already at your disposal in magazines, on the internet, on YouTube, in your local bookstore, and in those unbidden infomercials that pop up on your smart phone.
The Laws of Small Projects postulates immutable laws about small projects that fill the gap in human understanding left by the sages Parkinson, Peter and Murphy half a century ago. It illuminates what small projects can teach us about ourselves and the meaning of life.
You’ve heard the Zen proverb, “chop wood, carry water” which suggests that attending to routine chores is the path to enlightenment. That ancient wisdom is still relevant in today’s modern world, even though chopping wood has been relegated to a weekend at the cabin and survivalists in plaid shirts. Undoubtedly, when stress and burnout give you headaches and ulcers and threaten to cut your life short, attending to routine chores can provide a brief sense of calm and satisfaction, and a bit of order to your chaotic life.
But it’s not that simple. The word “chores” has an underbelly inference of necessary but unpleasant. That’s probably why your bed is unmade and the dishes are piling up in the sink. Or, if you attend to your chores diligently, you don’t have time for anything else. But railing against the busyness of our lives is futile. If we restated the proverb as: kickback, drink coffee and do nothing—would that be more helpful in coping with today’s realities?
Devoting your time to a small project of your own choosing might break the routine and offer the possibility of more fun and greater satisfaction than doing your chores. “To hell with the dishes!” you might say. “I’ve got more important things to do!” And you would be right. But beware: small projects are fraught with challenge, frustration, and disappointment—they are not as innocent as they seem.
Regardless of your age, if you are wise enough to know you still have much to learn, the maxims iterated herein may give you pause, but don’t let them dissuade you from tackling that nagging at-home project. Think of yourself as the classic reluctant hero venturing into an exotic land filled with unknown adventures. Be brave; open yourself up to the possibilities. You may experience disappointment and may sustain injury, but you won’t die. Well yeah, that could happen too. But surely you will be a step further on the path to enlightenment.
If you are a wizened senior with arthritic hands and long years of shopworn knowhow, this book will clarify and reinforce your well-earned insights. You’ve experienced the edifying frustration and rewarding self-satisfaction of working on projects. You probably remember the lessons you learned on your journey more clearly than the projects you were working on when clarity struck. Other than laying in enough firewood for the winter, or preparing a good meal for an appreciative audience, there are few things you do in life that are so finite—do the project, relish your work and its accomplishment, bandage your wounds, and then move on to tackle other projects that give your life meaning.
Robert J Taylor 