Micro-milestones: productivity improvement through the use of micro-milestones

Improving your level of productivity is not a result that happens by itself. It will require learning some new skills and, more importantly, implementing them. We’ll examine one of those skills in this report. The ability to use micro milestones to complete your important tasks in a timely manner.

Implementing this skill will mean that you have a systematic way of completing important tasks. One of the real benefits of doing this is that you will have more time for family and friends. You will also feel a very real sense of accomplishment while doing this. On the other hand, having this skill will be another way to avoid completing important tasks. It also means that you can totally avoid feeling like you haven’t finished something that you know you should have done.

THE MICRO-MILESTONES STRATEGY

Before we dive into this productivity improvement strategy, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page.

Wikipedia defines “Milestone“ace

“… a milestone is an event that receives special attention.”

This is where ambiguity can start to come into play when it comes to this strategy. What we are looking for here is a marker that exists on the duration of a total task that you will use as a way to break down that task and allow you to complete a part of it.

When it comes to choosing the marker, it should be something that makes sense specifically for you. For example, if we have chosen as a task to write a book, one of the subtasks would be to write a chapter of that book. For our purposes, we can go a step further and say that our micro-milestone in this case could be 1000 words.

The important thing to note here is that the micro-milestone should be chosen in such a way that you don’t get overwhelmed trying to complete the entire task in one go.

Think of it this way, “How do you eat an elephant?”

The answer is simple.

“One bite at a time!”

In our case, one bite at a time will be the micro-milestones. This will tend to create positive momentum for you and lead to an overall improvement in productivity.

WHY DOES THIS WORK?

The micro-milestone strategy is effective because of three specific principles that work synergistically to create a whole that is larger than its parts.

The first principle is the idea of ​​”Momentum”. One of the biggest enemies of productivity is the idea of ​​inertia or no movement. Most of the time, you are slow to start a task due to the perception of being overwhelmed by it or biting off a lot more than you can comfortably handle at the time.

By choosing micro-milestones, you will find yourself more proactive and not overwhelming. By completing micro-milestone after micro-milestone, you will create positive momentum.

The second principle of “Commitment” is based on the idea that when we have decided that we are going to do something and we start on that path, we will have to stay on it until we reach the logical end. In this case, by committing to completing a micro-milestone, you have facilitated the beginning because you know that the end is not an unreachable distant place.

Finally, the last principle that makes micro-milestones work is the idea of ​​”Consistency.” We are all programmed to be consistent with the way we view ourselves. That is why it is so difficult not to comply with something that you have committed to finish. Having said that I would like to clarify what I have just written. If you were forced to commit to something because of an outside authority, then the effect of this principle is greatly reduced because you didn’t really make the decision yourself.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

In this report, we’ve taken a pretty deep look at a strategy that, if implemented, can increase your productivity. We look at some of the reasons your productivity increases, explain the idea of ​​micro-milestones, cover the principles that make this specific strategy work, and finally what to do if you encounter three popular roadblocks. By allowing yourself to consistently implement the micro-milestone strategy, you will find that your productivity levels begin to skyrocket. What’s interesting about this is that it starts to become a ubiquitous effect. The other areas of your life will become productive because as your drive increases, so does your sense of being a more productive person. This means more satisfying personal relationships, more successful business and / or professional results, and of course, a greater sense of accomplishment.