In uncertain times, we reach for control. Hustle describes this as seeking “agency”—a way to act with confidence, to reclaim momentum, even when everything around us feels volatile. The mistake we make is assuming agency needs to be grand. But often, it’s in the smallest shift.

Sometimes it means unblocking, not pushing. Ali Abdaal writes about procrastination and introduces a third way—not relying on motivation or brute force, but simply understanding why something feels heavy in the first place. Tackling the resistance at the root gives you something better than a productivity trick. It gives you clarity.

The same principle applies in teams. In Why You Need a “WTF Notebook”, the author shares a habit of quietly fixing small, shared annoyances—things that irritate everyone but never quite get solved. By noticing, naming, and addressing them, you become a person who moves things forward. No big speeches. Just action.

It turns out that’s how trust and leadership often grow. Susan Cain reminds us in Quiet that peer pressure doesn’t just influence behavior—it can distort how we see a problem. Which makes it even more important to stay grounded in your own curiosity, your own sense of what needs fixing, not just what’s popular to fix.

And sometimes, what needs fixing is our focus. Rich Tabor says that focus doesn’t come from discipline. It comes from fascination. It’s not about shutting everything else out—it’s about being drawn so fully into something that distractions fall away on their own.

In the end, it’s the accumulation of small, deliberate actions—conversations had, help offered, curiosity followed—that create the sense of control we’re seeking. As John C. Maxwell puts it, “Each day is an unrepeatable miracle.” If you make today count, tomorrow tends to follow.

So, what would it look like to reclaim some agency today, just by acting on something small that matters?