The “Half is Greater Than Zero” Mindset

Do you ever look around your home and see hundreds of things you need to do? There is SO much to accomplish yet you don’t even know where or how to start? I’m talking stacks of mail, piles of laundry, baskets of dumped toys, mountains of dishes, and toilets that need scrubbed. Sound familiar? Taking care of a home and family is not easy.

When you look at a big task and you’re not sure where to start, it’s tempting to just not start. It may seem easier to not even try rather than muster up the courage and energy to take the first step in tackling it. This is a situation I find myself in more times than I care to admit.

The Overwhelm

It only takes a short amount of time for my home to get in a state that overwhelms me. When I feel overwhelmed I often feel mentally drained as well. Feeling drained doesn’t help me be productive. But, avoiding the tasks in front of me ultimately doesn’t help rid me of overwhelm nor replenish my energy.

When things seem out of control in our homes it can affect our mood, over all well-being and how we treat others. Not a lot of good comes out of having a home that’s in a state of disarray. It’s harder to relax and enjoy your home and family when there are messes all around. Although it is normal for messes to happen. After all, you live there!

Defeated Mindset

I used to think that I shouldn’t start a housework task I couldn’t finish without stopping. Knowing my kids were inevitably going to interrupt me mid-task was so frustrating. If I couldn’t fold ALL the laundry in one sitting then I wouldn’t fold any of it. If starting to clean the bathroom meant I would have to stop after wiping down just the sink then I wouldn’t even start. I had a defeated mindset before I even started.

Over time I have come to realize that being a SAHM with three young boys means I will be interrupted A LOT. But these interruptions don’t have to mean that I accomplish nothing. In an ideal situation, I start doing the dishes and have all the dishes done twenty minutest later. In the past, if I didn’t have twenty uninterrupted minutes, then I wouldn’t even start the dishes. Messes in my home would sit until the ideal situation presented itself. I would sometimes wait hours or even days to get started on a task.

A New Mindset

The fear of not being able to finish the task would override my will to even begin. The desire to finish what I was doing became more important than making progress. Until I changed my mindset to believe that being productive is still a success even if the task isn’t completed. This is what I like to call, “half is greater than zero.” In other words, making progress is better than doing nothing at all.

For instance, it is okay to fold half a load of laundry if the alternative is folding none of it. It is okay to wash half the dishes rather than leave them all dirty in the sink. It is not only okay, it is good! Getting half of the task done doesn’t make you a loser, it makes you a winner! Half is always greater than zero.

It is always good for your goal to be to finish what you start. But this season of life with young kids will not always lend itself to completing tasks. I don’t need to lay out all the reasons why you may not be able to finish something you start. You already know them and you know them well. But don’t let all those reasons cause you to make zero progress when you can at least do something.

Little By Little

Splitting up a task into halves (or even smaller parts) means you work on it little by little. Eventually you accomplish the whole task. The goal is to finish the laundry, dishes, etc. and by doing half now and half another time, you reach your goal. Housework becomes more manageable (and gets done!) when your focus shifts from overwhelm to doing it as you can. You just have to start and know it’s okay if you get interrupted and have to finish later.

The “half is greater than zero” mindset doesn’t only have to apply to housework. It works for other goals, too. If you want to increase your physical exercise but don’t have a gym membership or a large chunk of time to work out, then start small. If you start by doing twenty crunches a day rather than none, at the end of one week you will have done 140 crunches! Wow! One hundred forty is definitely greater than zero! Even though you don’t have fancy workout equipment you can still make great progress doing something small rather than nothing at all.

I don’t want you to be misled. Don’t purposefully only do half a task when you’re able to do it fully. After all, one is greater than half. And don’t halfway start a remodel then have a bathroom in shambles for two years 😉 Only apply “half is greater than zero” when you don’t know how you’re going to accomplish something but know you need to start.

You’ve Got This

When you’re tired and you’re overwhelmed by life and raising kids, don’t be discouraged. Don’t believe that just because you may not finish what you start that means you shouldn’t start at all. Remember that doing something is a win. Making progress is better than putting things off. And half will always come out to be greater than zero. You’ve got this!