Big Goals Don't Get Done. Small Steps Do

How Little Steps Build Big Momentum

Last year, on my birthday, I made myself a promise.

I was going to finish my book before I turned another year older.

I have been talking about writing a book since I finished my PhD…in 2017. That’s seven years of talking about it. Even I was getting tired of hearing myself talk about it. It’s not that I didn’t want to write it, I did. Every time I talked about it, I would get excited and feel a rush of motivation… and then nothing.

Why does this happen, and how do we change that?

The One Truth

Big goals get abandoned because we try to tackle them all at once.

We get caught up in the busyness of the routines that dominate our lives. We push the big goal off until there is enough time, a gap in the calendar, or a version of our lives with fewer competing priorities and more hours in the day.

That magical moment doesn’t exist. That magical moment will never exist. And deep down, we know that.

If we want to achieve big things, we need to make space for it. But if we try to make too much space for it at once, we end up not making any time at all. Instead, we need to start very small.

One Insight

My book started as a series of sticky notes that I spent 15 minutes on each day. Each sticky note captured one idea I wanted to cover in the book. And every day for 15 minutes, I worked on the sticky notes until one day I felt I had enough to write an outline. Then the 15 minutes a day turned into 30 per day.

At this point, spending a few minutes every day was part of my daily routine. So going from 15 minutes to 30 didn’t feel like too much of a stretch. I finally reached a point where I could see the book taking shape. By the time I carved out a month over the Christmas break to write the book, 8 hours a day for 30 days, I was eager to write it.

This is how we build momentum to do big things… with little steps that feel manageable amid the chaotic busyness of our lives.

Insight into Action

Starting small feels counterintuitive. It feels like big goals require big steps…and they do, but we don’t have to start with a leap. Often, we fail to take a leap because it feels scary. The leap feels like too much effort. And we can never seem to make time for the big leap.

So, as odd as it feels, start small.

What’s that project that you’ve been putting off? What’s your version of writing a book?

Now, what is the smallest step you can start with?

Getting Unstuckifyed

This isn't new advice. We've all been told to break big things into smaller steps. We know this. And yet, here we are — with goals sitting untouched. What I've learned in 12 years of researching stuckness is that the gap isn't knowledge. It's doing. So here is your sign. You already know what to do.

Till Next Time

I leave you with this question: What is the smallest first step you can take?

Thanks for getting Unstuckifyed with me.

Dr Dani

PS: My book, Unstuckifyed: Why organizations get stuck and how to unstick them, has officially been submitted for publication. Want to be notified when it launches? Sign up here: https://forms.gle/twofkMSqbVHXGaYm9