Micro milestones (DW #950)
In her Harvard Business Review article The Power of Small Wins and her book The Progress Principle, Teresa Amabile explains that when we are feeling good, we tend to be more productive and creative at work. When we are not feeling so good, we are not as productive and creative.
Ok sure.
But the million dollar question is this: how do we make sure we are feeling good most days so that we can be productive and creative at work (and be motivated on our journey of self-growth?)
Here is the key which she discovered after much research.
(Amabile has surveyed hundreds of top executives and managers about what motivates people. About 95% of them get that question wrong. They just don’t know what motivates people)
So what works?
Small wins. Progress on meaningful projects.
People feel their best and perform at their best when they’re making progress on something that matters to them. It does NOT need to be a huge life shattering or award worthy moment.
Turns out that what motivates us and keeps us motivated is the TINY little wins we can create for ourselves day in and day out that make the most difference.
In other words, we need to create small, micro milestones for ourselves on our journey.
Here are some examples. Do share your own!
- Waking up 5 minutes earlier to meditate 5 days in a row
- Walking 500 extra steps for 7 days in a row
- Practicing self compassion for 5 minutes for 10 days straight.
- Having only bonding conversation at the dinner table for two weekends.
- Doing 30 seconds of plank before breakfast for 30 days in a row.
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