The problem with big goals is that they’re foggy. Knowing where to start is hard. Seeing progress is hard. Finishing them is even harder. Do you have big projects like writing a book or losing 50 pounds or changing career fields that you’ve been meaning to start for months or years? Do they feel overwhelming or scary? Then this is for you.

Your goals should be today-sized

It’s not that I hate big goals, but I don’t want us to get lost in them. I want us to break it into a piece no bigger than one day. Not a book but a page. Not 50 pounds but a 500 calorie deficit. Not a new job but one application. And if you try it and you can’t get it done, make it smaller. There is no minimum size. Once it’s small enough that you get it done, repeat the process tomorrow.

I’m not just giving you permission to start small. I’m demanding it. If you would have taken one small daily bite out of your big goal starting 6 months ago, how much farther along would you be right now? We can start today, we just need to start small enough we can get something done.

Your goals require consistency. Own it.

The truth is, most goals that mean something can’t be accomplished in one day. They take weeks, months, or years. If that’s a given, then the only thing that makes sense is to find a pace you can maintain. Doing a bunch in one day and then nothing for a month is ineffective. Hiding from it altogether is even more so. Don’t think about small bites as the weeny way out. This is the most ruthless, relentless, efficient strategy you can use. Beat burnout, beat procrastination, chip away that mountain one piece at a time.

You’re not hiding anymore, you’re not delaying, you’re taking one bite out of this elephant and you’ll keep coming back every day until it’s gone.

Small quick iterations accelerate zeroing in on big goals

Progress is not linear. To accomplish your big goal you’ll need to try a lot of things that don’t work. Not because you’re dumb but just because that’s how progress is made. If you try 5 diets that fail before finding out the one that works, then step 1 of your weight loss goal was just “find a diet that works,” and those first 5 failures were an essential stepping stone. How can you get to your big goal faster? Jump in with both feet on the small experiments that will teach you.

It sounds weird but you need to start failing right now. You need the information you’ll get from trying things. Failing most small goals won’t kill you. Usually it only costs time, and you’ll either spend it trying something or twiddling your fingers anxiously procrastinating your goal. The more you can break your big goal into small daily experiments the faster you’ll find the approach that ends up working for you. 

I didn’t say start tomorrow. I said make it today sized and start right now. What’s the worst thing that will happen? You try something and it doesn’t work? Good, cross that approach off your list and try the next one tomorrow. This is what progress looks like. You’ll get there, and trying something today is the first step.