Tiny Projects
The building blocks of life’s richest stories
Most people aim for big goals.
“Lose 20 lbs.”
”Run a marathon.”
”Get sober.”
”Do a complete makeover of my house / my yard.”
The problem with big goals is that you’re constantly looking at the end-state, which can be an overwhelming reminder of how much farther you have to go. Motivation is often lost when the goal seems so far away, especially if you plateau.
Ultrarunning, for example, involves running distances over a marathon. Like 50 or 100 miles. I’ve read many stories of ultrarunners who feel prepared going into their 100 mile races, but end up not finishing because halfway through, they realize they still have 50 miles left to go, and their brains say “This is batsh*t crazy. It’s too far. I can’t do it.” On the other hand, I’ve read stories of ultrarunners who turn the remaining 50 miles into 1-mile mini goals. Or even “get to the next bend in the trail” micro goals.
I call these “tiny projects.”
Tiny projects are the secret to accomplishing big goals. With a tiny project, you set your mind to accomplishing something bite-sized, not building-sized. The beauty of tiny projects is that they relieve the pressure of achieving something huge and solve the problem of lost motivation.
You celebrate your tiny wins every day. These daily celebrations are what keep you motivated.
Tiny projects = big changes
8 years ago, I bought a house with an ex who wanted “fixer-upper” yards. She was going to re-landscape everything. When we broke up 6 months later, I was left with a broken heart and landscaping that looked like a dilapidated cemetery. I didn’t know anything about plant care or renovating outdoor spaces, but what I did know is that I wanted to look at something beautiful. So, I bought a shovel and started digging. Every day for a year, I completed a tiny landscaping project. Here’s what happened.
My big landscaping goal wasn’t scoped out with Gantt charts, milestone checkpoints, and workback plans. My big goal was an evolution of hundreds of tiny projects. My vision became reality by focusing on just one hour, over the course of a thousand hours.
More examples of tiny projects
I want to do 100 pushups in one-go. My tiny project is doing the same number of push-ups every day, increasing them by 5 every week. This week, is 55 every day; next week will be 60 every day; and so on.
Here’s how you can break some of the big goals I mentioned above into tiny projects:
Instead of focusing on 10 lbs of weight loss, your tiny project could be exercising for 30 minutes every morning, increasing it by 5 minutes every week.
Instead of focusing on running 26.2 miles, your tiny project could be walking 1 mile every day. Then jog-walking 1 mile every other day. Most “couch-to-marathon” training plans follow this tiny project approach.
Instead of saying “I will never drink alcohol again,” your tiny project could be “I will get through the next hour,” “I will get through tonight,” “I will get through 24 hours” without drinking.
Final thought
When you think about your life, do you think about it in terms of how many big goals you’ve accomplished? Or do you think about it in terms of what you’ve experienced, what you’ve survived, and what you’ve loved?
Tiny projects are the building blocks of life’s richest stories. When we share ourselves with others, we don’t share a laundry list of goals accomplished. We share narratives of success and struggle.
The big goal is not where you live. You live in the moments, the small wins, the daily celebrations. That’s where big change happens eventually. You don’t need more motivation. You don’t need a better plan. You just need tiny projects.
Start there.