baby steps

The Power of MicroProgress

How to accomplish big goals by using tiny steps.

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When you lead a busy life, it can be hard to find time to do things. Because of that, in many cases you don’t even start big tasks, simply because you don’t think you have the time to devote to it.

I’ve discovered a way to defeat that challenge, a way to achieve massive goals.

Instead of looking at that goal as a whole, break it up into teeny, tiny steps. The smaller the individual steps, the better. The trick here is to break it up into pieces that you can easily accomplish in just a few minutes.

I call these MicroTasks.

Once you’ve broken up your goal, decide to complete a single MicroTask each and every day. The best time to do this is in the morning when you first wake up.

This allows you to start your day on a triumphant note, knowing that you have gotten one step closer to your goal.

While it seems as if it would take longer to achieve a goal by only completing tiny sections of it, the fact that you do a tiny little bit each and every day means that you will actually accomplish your goal faster than if you wait for the time to complete big chunks, and even faster than if you waited for the chance to do the work all at once.

For instance, I now work on my writing for a few minutes each and every day. My goal is to write a single sentence when I’m writing, or review a single paragraph while I’m editing. By doing just this tiny amount every single day, I’ve already made a single editing pass on the book I wrote during my vacation and have almost completed the first draft of my next book.

And I’ve done it by making some MicroProgress each and every day.

To inspire myself, I place an X on the calendar every time I complete my daily goal. Watching that chain of Xs grow inspires me to do the work even when I’m not in the mood. It’s a small thing, but it makes a big difference.

If you have a goal that you want to achieve but think you’re too busy, try breaking it down into tiny tasks that you can do each day.

Because, as the turtle beat the hare, small bits of MicroProgress will help you win the race in the end.

~#~

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I’ve written a lot of books sharing my odd view of life in hopes of helping others. My most notorious book is titled The Shoestring Girl: How I Live on Practically Nothing and You Can Too, but The Minimalist Cleaning Method is pretty popular as well. You can find them at the following places:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Apple iBooks
Smashwords (non-DRM)

Thank you for your support!

The Magic of Time

I moved to this house in April 2011. In the fence row of the front yard was a little sapling beside my front gate.

My friend Mr. A wanted to chop it down. I told him to leave it; it would grow into a fence post eventually. That sapling was so insignificant that I never even bothered to photograph it. I finally located a photo of it I snapped a year later when we acquired Lilly. You can see it on the right-hand side if you look closely. It’s growing alongside the post that the front gate is attached to.

I’ve never really thought much about that sapling over the years; it was just there. A few neighbors have commented on how shady my yard stays, how private it is now but that’s about it.

Until this morning.

I woke up, and as is my habit I brewed my morning coffee and sat on the porch sipping the first cup while my dogs had their morning sniff/potty break.

That was when I finally saw it, I raced inside to grab my camera:

That tiny little inconsequential sapling is now a luxurious tree.

A small insignificant incident in my life culminated in this moment. More than anything that has happened in the seven years I’ve lived in this tiny home, that tree represents the changes I’ve experienced in my life.

It wasn’t the only sapling I saved over the years. I propped up the tiny survivor of a hollyhock bush on the left corner of my yard after the local water company decimated the primary bush in my neighbor’s front yard. A year or so after that a child of that bush appeared near the area where I keep my trash can. A sapling I preserved that doesn’t appear in this photo grew into a mulberry tree. The squirrels are grateful for that one since it feeds them. They hop from the branches of the one I photographed into the branches of the mulberry tree whenever they want a snack.

Maybe this is why I’ve grown so attached to this little house over the years. I’ve established roots. For the first time in my life I can sit on my porch and say “that tree was just a sapling when I moved here.” For the first time in my life I can look out and actually, physically see the fruits of my labor.

The magic of it is that I really didn’t do much. I just let it grow, and now look at it!

There is a lesson in that tree. Small actions can have a huge impact on our lives over time. A blog I created on a lark developed into a business. A book I wrote for my aunt became another and another until the royalties grew enough to support us for several years.

The royalties from those books, as I invest the money, will support me again in the future as my hair continues to grey.

Baby steps. It works.

Two days after my friend arrived, she had a job.

When she received her first paycheck, she rented a house.

When she received her last paycheck from her job in Michigan, she had her utilities switched on.

Now her daughter has managed to secure employment.

Just a small series of baby steps and she is well on her way to a better life. She is amazed at how easy it was to find work in this area, at how inexpensive the rent is. For the first time in many years she has hope.

I am honored to be a part of it.

She still has a ways to go, of course. We need to locate a refrigerator that she can afford, but for now we are freezing gallon jugs of water that she can use with a cooler to keep food cool. She will need to acquire furniture as well since she had lived in a hotel for several years but bit by bit we’ll get it sorted.

As I tell her when she thinks the hurdles are insurmountable, I started here with even less.

So no matter where you are right now, I want you to know that if you are willing to work toward your goals, you can achieve anything. I’ve done it, my friend is doing it, and you can as well.

I have faith.