Celebrate the Small Wins

Are you task oriented? Does your day not feel complete until you’ve checked X number of things off of your list? Do you get overwhelmed when you have a million things on your plate? If so, then you’re like me. Fear not! I’m here to share some pointers on what helps me to stay afloat, manage stress, and celebrate the small victories, which are key components to productivity!

I heard a quote from Tony Robbins that stuck with me. “Most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year, but underestimate what they can do in two or three decades.” This philosophy has transformed my mindset as a software engineer. For example, I used to set unrealistic goals: “This year, I will finally become an ‘expert’ Ruby programmer.” Whatever that means. This leads to daunting, unclear, and unobtainable standards. Another example that I faced this past year: I have to build a brand new application in just four short months. Stress quickly snowballs, and suddenly, I’m so overwhelmed that I can hardly get anything done.

Luckily, I’ve been able to create a process that forces me to think about projects, tasks, or anything that life throws at me, in a different light.

Step 1
Set Realistic Goals

SMART goals have helped me immensely with stress management. If I can pinpoint clear objectives, rather than looking into a black box, I can get back on track to my task oriented personality, where I can actually achieve something.

Step 2
Break Down Larger Goals Into Smaller, Accomplishable Tasks

I break down all of the bigger “Epics” into small sized tasks that can be checked off my list, and easily tracked. Once goals are broken down, I can clearly focus on one task at a time, without distraction.

Step 3
Get to Work

Now is the time to work, work, work! You have clear focus, and clear goals stamped out, with nothing preventing you from checking one item off of your list. Time to get it done!

Step 3
Celebrate the Small Win!

Congrats! You’ve just taken a super complex goal, and completed one item that gets you one step closer. No matter how small the task you just completed is, take a second to reflect on what you just accomplished. Did you build an entire application in one day? Probably not. But you may have laid the foundation for a complicated piece of logic. Or built out UI components that will one day form into a great looking application.

Using this process, I’ve set myself up for success, and can focus on what I’ve achieved, rather than what else is left to be done. This reframes my outlook on tasks that may seem overwhelming, to look at things in a much more positive light.