Many of you already know that a common theme I like to write about is goal setting. I did and still do believe that this is one of the most important things we can do in our lives. It’s not that we necessarily need a plan from day one that describes everything we ever want to accomplish. It’s that it can be so helpful for us to establish goal posts in our everyday lives.

Even if it’s a daily to do list scribbled on a scrap of paper, it can help us to focus on what is most important for us to get done today. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to get going on some of these tasks that must be accomplished. Often it’s because they are bigger or more complex tasks and we’re not sure where to start. The answer to dealing with this sort of issue is to break the task down into even smaller microtasks.

Steve Pavlina recently wrote an article about microtasks and describes them this way:

A solution I’ve found more effective is to break a large project down into a lengthy list of “microtasks,” planning it all the way from beginning to end if possible. A microtask is a very basic action item, so small that you’d be hard pressed to break it down any further without it being ridiculous to do so. An example of a microtask is to make a 5-minute phone call. If you have to break it down into dialing the phone number, you’re going too far.

I can see where it might be easy to get carried away with this idea, but for many of us it’s useful to reduce complex tasks down into the smallest possible pieces. For a complicated and unfamiliar project, this can be a great way to really understand what it will take to get it done. Some people in the programming business will create design documents before beginning a project and these documents often describe the tiniest of steps required to create the finished product.

The great thing about this is that it creates a blueprint or roadmap for completing the project. All the programmer has to do is follow it step by step and put it into code. The same can be done for many other parts of our lives.

I’m not suggesting that everyone sit down and write out endless lists of what they have to do in every facet of their lives, but I definitely know that this can be helpful in getting past stumbling blocks or when we are feeling completely overwhelmed by the crush of many responsibilities. All of the obligations in our lives can feel like a terrible weight and sometimes we can lift some of that weight just by thinking about our goals and tasks and beginning to accomplish them, one tiny piece at a time. Any perception of progress helps make your outlook more positive and to motivate you on to further progress.