3 Ways to Make Progress to Reach Your Goals

Here we are finishing off the first quarter of the year, where the heck did the time go?! 

For me, the first quarter always flies by in a blur. It feels so hectic, and I’m never really sure if I’ve got the things done that I planned.

But when I sit down to reflect, I find that even though it felt hectic and unclear, I still made progress on my goals. 

There is inevitably a “Wait, What?” moment. How did that happen? Here I was feeling uncertain about my progress, and now I find that I’m right on track.

The thing is– the structure that I have in place is there to ensure that I get to that next best step and also to care for myself as a human. Which means, if I just keep picking away at the next step, eventually it all comes together. 

I saw this post from @lizandmollie on Instagram recently that perfectly illustrates this idea for me.

When you try to reach your goal by making big jumps, it can feel daunting and hard to achieve. It may mean that you feel like you have to put in a huge effort, and then you need to rest, delaying progress along the way.

But if you break each step down into its simplest form, you consistently have a bunch of small steps, and each one keeps you moving forward, and you may not even notice the effort. 

Image Source: Instagram @lizandmollie

The key there is also to map out the steps in a way that cares for you as a human. 

Things in your life will inevitably come up. This is a known fact. Or sometimes feelings come up that keep us from completing a project ( I have a blog on exactly that here).

Because this is a known fact, we can build margins into our day. Margins that account for self care, family care, and any of those other things that come up. 

What do I mean by margins?

Building margins into your day means creating space for yourself that has no pre-determined to do list. Just like a page needs white space, so do you. 

It can look like 15 minutes between each meeting. Or a walk in the middle of the day. Or time to create for the sake of creating. 

When you have these margins built into your days, you then have space to deviate from the plan. 

Once you have your single steps mapped out and your margins built into your day, the deviations become a lot less stressful. You can clearly see where the impact will be.

i.e. “if x thing comes up today, I know that I can shift y thing to manage impact OR I can use up this free space I built in (margin) and everything stays the same.”

Image Source: Instagram @lizandmollie

So let’s bring this home…

3 Ways to Make Progress on your Goals

1. Break out your projects into single tasks, and plan your day as a series of single tasks. Step by step, you get there.
   
   For example, writing this blog post had some of these tasks: free write post, read first draft, edit post, send out for feedback, etc.
   

2. Build in margins into your day in a way that works for you. Some easy examples are a 5 minute break for every 30 minutes of work,  a half hour walk at lunch time, or block off an hour each day to use as flex time.
   
   For me, I always have 15 minutes before and after meetings to stretch, marinate on ideas, and process what I’ve heard. I also have a walk scheduled each day (length of time varies depending on the day) and I let my mind wander wherever it needs to during that time.
   

3. Make goal planning a priority. You need to have that North Star set so that you know which path you are following. Or else you end up doing next steps or spending your margins on the stuff that doesn’t get you where you want to go. 

Together, I can help you create some focus goals and break them down into small steps so that you can find more focus and ease in your days while continuing to make progress in the areas important to you and your business.

If this is an area where you need support, book a strategy call here and let’s talk about how we can get you moving forward in your business.