TCFBO #001: How Tiny Steps Get Big Things Done

Read Time: 3 minutes

If you’re anything like us, you’ll have a long list of projects that you want to get done at some point. Some may be to improve the business. Some may be things you want to get done outside of the business.

But when you’re busy running the business on a day-to-day basis, and you have all kinds of demands on your time, how do you actually get any of these projects off the ground, let alone finished?

Well, in our experience, when it comes to creating big results, tiny actions trump big actions.

Here’s why.

If you take a tiny action and complete it, you get a feeling of success, a psychological boost! And because you feel good, the chances are you’ll take another tiny action.

Whereas if you take a big action and don’t complete it, you get a feeling of failure. And the next day that big action that you didn’t complete yesterday is sitting there waiting to remind you that you failed to complete it yesterday and it’s still sitting there waiting for you to attempt to get it done (or fail to get it done again) today.

So right now pick a project you want to have made progress on by this time next week.

Got one? Great.

Now write down one action you will complete in the next 24 hours that will move that project forward.

Done that? Good.

OK. Quickly grab a pen and put it down in front of you.

Seriously, go grab a pen and then put it down in front of you.

Done it? Great!

Now, on a scale of zero to ten, with ten being that you absolutely believe you can pick up the pen and zero being that you have no belief whatsoever that you can pick up the pen, where are you on that scale?

Ten you say?

Well, here’s the thing. If you did say ten, the chances are that you don’t believe that you can pick up the pen. You know with certainty that you can pick up the pen! So notice what that level of certainty, that level of knowing, feels like.

Right, now take a look at the task you want to get done in the next 24 hours.

What’s your level of certainty that you can complete that action in the next 24 hours?

Be honest with yourself and pay attention to any doubts that come up in your mind. If you are less than 100% certain, the task is too big and requires chunking down.

So break that action down into smaller steps.

When you’ve done that, decide which one of those smaller actions you’re going to complete in the next 24 hours.

Ask yourself: “What’s my level of certainty that I can complete this action in the next 24 hours?”.

If you’re still less than 100% certain, chunk it down further.

Keep checking your level of certainty and chunking it down until you get to the point where you are 100% certain that you can (and will) complete the first action in the next 24 hours.

We take clients through this process all the time. One of the most memorable occasions was a lady whose action to complete within the first 24 hours after our session was the teeny tiny step of opening a Word document and saving it.

Sure enough, the next day she opened and saved a Word document.

Success!!

However, because she showed up and took that teeny tiny step, she actually ended up doing far more that day than she anticipated. By having such a tiny action to complete, her mind had no doubt and absolute certainty that she could accomplish it.

This is what started the momentum for her project. She succeeded in completing what she set out to accomplish and she felt great!

The fact that she accomplished more than she anticipated gave her an even greater psychological boost and she went on to complete the project much faster than she could ever have imagined was possible.

So now you have your action and you’re 100% certain you’re going to complete it within the next 24 hours.

When you complete that first action, decide on the next task you’re going to complete within the next 24 hours and check your level of certainty on that, chunking down again as necessary.

If you do this each day, by this time next week you’ll be a minimum of seven steps closer to completing one of your projects!

Let us know how you get on and we’ll see you next week.

Paul & Philly

Whenever you’re ready, there are two ways we can help you:

1. To discover the method we use to create a life and business we love, grab a copy of “Backwards Planning - A Simple Method to Move You and Your Business Forward” on Amazon.

2. If you'd like to work one to one with us through the entire “Backwards Planning” process outlined in the book, you can apply to join The Clear Focus Business Academy.

The first step is to book a facilitated Life Vision Session which we conduct over Zoom. This session will not only give you clarity on what you want from your life but will give you the opportunity to experience how we work and ensure we're a good fit for each other before deciding whether The Clear Focus Business Academy is right for you. It comes with a 100% money back guarantee, so if you're not entirely satisfied, simply let us know at the end of the session and we'll issue a full refund.