I'm a mother of two young children, I'm an
entrepreneur with multiple different businesses, and I'm the sole
income earner for our family of four.
My Todo list is enough to make most people's head
spin too much to do probably the reason why I
don't actually write it down, but I'm also known as
one of the greatest procrastinators in all of the universe.
How is it that I'm able to actually get
anything done when I myself am personally a procrastinator,
and I met with a mountain of tasks and
projects that seem so incredibly large?
The answer is micro productivity.
Micro productivity is the practice of taking
one large project or task and breaking
it down into multiple smaller tasks.
As Desmond Tutu stated, there is only one way
to eat an elephant, one bite at a time.
Instead of taking the approach of the mighty Python, unhinging
my jaw and swallowing an entire meal all at once,
I break things down into micro tasks that I can
complete in a single sitting, invite sized pieces.
But this is not just something that
works for me and me alone.
Micro productivity is backed by science.
Do not only result in a higher level of completion
of tasks, but your brain responds favorably as well.
While memory limits can vary slightly from person to
person, recent studies have shown that our average working
memory capacity is only three to five items.
Anything more than that, and it's bound
to fall out of your brain.
If we rely on our memory, we'll stop every step of
the task and think, what am I supposed to do next?
These are opportunities to get distracted, get
ourselves off track, and skip important steps
of whatever project we may be working
on, which could lead to its demise.
This means that breaking a larger project down
into smaller to dos helps us to easily
identify which step we should be taking next.
But that's not all.
Breaking projects down also allows your brain to
receive feedback at more frequent intervals, and this
feedback can have an impact on your brain,
your mood, and your motivation.
When you complete a task, your brain rewards you
by releasing a rush of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that's
connected to feelings of pleasure and motivation.
If you're completing large, longterm projects, only
your brain will reward you less frequently.
With the utilization of breaking down tasks into micro
tasks, each smaller chunk you complete equals a check
off of your to do list, resulting in a
release of dopamine, which may result in an elevated
mood and additional motivational push, allowing you to make
more progress towards reaching that larger goal.
Now, there are a few steps that you should keep in
mind in order to make micro productivity work for you.
Number one, look at the big picture.
Make sure that you understand what the
end result is of the overarching project
that you want to have completed.
Number two, examine the parts of the task.
Figure out the step by step roadmap that will
get you exactly where you need to go and
try to figure out how you can break that
down into bite sized chunks that you can actually
complete realistically within a single sitting.
Next, think about the logical
order of completing each element.
What should you do 1st, 2nd, 3rd what materials
do you need, what research do you need and
what resources must you have on hand in order
to complete that task in a single sitting?
Next, create a timeline for completing your Task
Oftentimes having a deadline may make you more
focused on completing that task if you have
an exact end date in mind.
Oftentimes with micro productivity, it can seem like the
small tasks you are completing are leading nowhere.
There can be so much to do
in your larger overarching project that completing
micro tasks can at times feel pointless.
I want you to understand that through utilizing
these small, reasonable steps, you are taking daily
regular action on reaching your goals and that
is the most important thing.