Little Levers Move the World

When Nickels and Dimes Add Up

Nickels and dimes, small bits of time, they all add up, and have you noticed how often it’s bad?

A little time on Facebook, a little on Twitter, and — poof — an hour is gone.

Organize the desk, do a little cleaning, no evening free-time left.

Get distracted by a short video, read a quick article, my lunch hour is done.

I think to myself, if I just had more time each day, I could do anything. But then I realized, I have time to do everything. I’ve just spent it doing nothing.

Sleep in just 5 minutes, take an extra minute or two to find my wallet, that’s somehow enough to make me late.

And it’s not just time.

A little candy, a fun-sized sized chocolate bar and somehow I’m 700 calories over my diet. A little spending splurge, eat fast food once or twice, bank account overdrawn.

Put a couple things on the credit card, get a small car loan, thousands of dollars of interest to be paid.

Why do small things always add up like that?

But then I realized nickels and dimes work the other way too. Just reframe it:

Joy of Joys, Nickels and Dimes Add Up!

Earn a bit of interest, put a little extra away, you’ll have an extra $1,000 in a couple months. “Those who add to money little by little make it grow.”

Write in my journal one week, write a bit the next, and at the end of the year I have a treasure trove of memories.

A little note, a quick text, equals a whole new dynamic with an old friend.

Drink a little more water, eat a little less sugar, and lose 5 pounds this month.

Take a little walk, lift weights for 10 minutes, have more energy each day.

Earn $100 doing freelance work just 100 times in 365 days, that’s an extra $10,000 in a year.

Spend half an hour a day on a subject, you’ll be advanced in it in 8 months.

“If I had more time I could rule the world” I used to say, with a little hyperbole.

I do have more time. I just haven’t been using it.

Little things add up. Little bits of time equal your life and little bits of money, added up with interest, make a fortune. I just need to leverage the little things.

“If I had a lever long enough I could move the world” — Archimedes

But I just need a 15 minute lever. Leveraging just 15 minutes a day, adding a nickel and dime here and there, and I can achieve whatever I want as the world cycles through my years.