Small Targets Lead to Achieving Big Goals

In this article, we will discuss why it’s essential to break your big goals into small targets. Namely, how it contributes to better time management practices that help your business flourish.

It’s common practice, especially in project management, to break the process into multiple smaller steps with a defined goal each. However, many businesses don’t incorporate this approach outside of it. Some see their goals as ‘too long-term’ or ‘not big enough’, but whatever the reasoning, one thing is definite—they are losing out. Creating a stream of smaller targets as a journey to your bigger goals is what makes them achievable quicker and easier without losing focus and motivation on the way.

Our article will explore the basic principles behind this approach and what makes it effective in practically every situation. We will also discuss tools and techniques that help you and your team improve at implementing it. Finally, we will address some common concerns and friction points to put your mind at ease. 

Why Can Setting Small Goals Be Beneficial?

Some people are hesitant to break their big goals into smaller milestones as they think it adds additional work and slows the process down. But they are wrong, for there are many benefits to this approach. Let us list some:

• Smaller targets benchmark the process; 

• It’s easier to change approach or strategy based on early findings that stem from smaller milestones; 

• They make the overall journey appear easier due to being reduced to sprints and chunks; 

• Employees are less likely to lose focus when having more defined tasks and targets on hand;

• They accumulate a lot of data that makes forecasts more accurate;

• This approach nurtures freedom for your team to set their own journey towards achieving the goals, further contributing to collaboration and communication;

• It makes the overall process more manageable, consistent and directed;

• The visibility gained through achieving small targets will aid you greatly in making business development decisions.

Overall, breaking big tasks into small ones is highly beneficial. It keeps the team morale and motivation up and provides a lot of actionable data. Below, we will explore some of these aspects in deeper detail.

The Benefits of Gradual Growth

There is no need to rush. The problem with pursuing big goals in leaps instead of steps is that you can become overwhelmed and burnt out in the process. Nothing drives progress faster than moving at a moderate, comfortable pace. 

Incremental Progress Builds Momentum and Motivation

As humans, we are wired to experience a surge of motivation upon feeling accomplished with our achievements. The lack of it, on the other hand, works the opposite and takes away the passion we may have had at the start of the project. This is why breaking big goals into smaller targets is the way forward. Pursuing one big goal is often a lengthy process that may cause frustration, a feeling of no progress being made, and, therefore, a loss of motivation. Celebrating smaller wins, however, highlights the process moving. Additionally, it gives that sense of achievement we draw motivation from and is bound to inspire us to carry on working with a clear direction in mind.

Finally, having a road built with targets outlining it allows you to move from goal to goal smoothly, knowing what the next definite steps are. This creates a process that is easy to follow, therefore creating momentum and keeping things moving at all times with less effort. Breaking big goals into smaller tasks removes friction and potential delays that arise through occasional hesitations in determining the direction or the best approach. In other words, it builds momentum by giving a direction and leaving no room for doubts. And, as already discussed, the sense of achievement-based gratification will keep you wanting to continue moving. 

Flexibility and Adaptability in Goal-Setting

By breaking big goals into small targets, you can essentially design your journey the way you want it to flow. It doesn’t matter what you’re trying to achieve - for every result, there are limitless options and methods. The key is to be flexible and dare to think outside the box. Additionally, be ready to change your approach if it proves to be ineffective. Breaking tasks into smaller targets allows you to adjust quickly.

When trying to change either methodology, tools or team involved with the big picture, the stakes are naturally higher. This will hinder your flexibility as there’s already too much historical data that would require backtracking far back to change. Having a bunch of smaller goals, however, allows you to play by ear. Even if the previous batch of data wasn’t satisfactory, you can change your approach leading up to the next target, potentially discovering a more suitable solution. It will still build on your previous findings and isn’t likely to jeopardise the overall results.

Tools and Techniques

Before taking this approach, you should consider what strategies and tools exist that can aid you. While they aren’t necessary to plan ahead and can be added along the journey, it’s always better to be ready than caught off-guard. 

Strategy to Stay Focused and Motivated Despite Setbacks

Mapping the journey by setting easier, smaller goals is a great strategy to keep morale and focus up, but it’s inevitable that setbacks will occur regardless. They can easily demotivate your team, even when pursuing low-hanging fruits. But here’s the trick: by addressing minor setbacks accordingly, you can turn them into major comebacks. As uncomfortable as it is, you will need to sit down and analyse what exactly went wrong. Some argue that prodding at the mistakes will further lower the motivation, but we digress. 

The key is to be constructive about it. Instead of turning to blame, setbacks should be approached as learning opportunities. Benchmark the point of friction to turn it into a starting point. When faced with failure, we tend to lose heart. But when there’s an outlined opportunity to improve, especially through taking on a challenge, it brings on motivation. What’s more, the ability to tackle the said challenge further nurtures confidence, a vital part of staying inspired. Prioritising small goals makes this strategy not just possible but easy to implement. 

Time Tracking

Time tracking is another good way to bounce back from setbacks and keep your team motivated and consistent. First of all, it makes it easy to stay up to date with the progress overall, giving an accurate estimate of how far you are from reaching goals and targets. Secondly, the visibility it provides makes it easier for your workers to prioritise their time, tasks and methods in order to meet the targets in a timely manner. 

You, too, will get ample data to analyse and address. How your team progresses in general and how they handle specific challenges are very important metrics on which you can base your business development decisions. Additionally, they offer pointers on how to raise overall efficiency, how to communicate with the clients better and how to nurture both collaboration and teamwork within your company. Understanding your company’s time expenditure overall is beneficial to every party involved.  

Nurturing Accountability

Another great benefit of breaking big goals into small targets is the fact it builds better accountability across the organisation. Without hindering your team’s freedom in the meantime. In other words, it doesn’t let you stray down the path of becoming overbearing. 

It Doesn’t Have to be Micromanagement

There is a big difference between holding your team accountable and micromanaging them. The latter kills productivity and is generally a counterproductive practice when it comes to chasing the results. Smothering employees to deliver under your strict requirements will limit them and build up resentfulness, none of which will benefit you in the long run. Instead, you need to have faith in your team and let them manage their time.

That said, you still need to have clear objectives mapped out alongside the deadlines you expect them to be ready by. The area in which you take a step back is how your employees handle their journey to reaching the said goals. That doesn’t mean you should leave them completely on their own, however. If your workers reach out to you for advice, help or assistance, you should offer them guidance. Other than that, trust their processes and let their results speak for themselves. 

Summary

Although breaking big goals into small targets is a practice commonly used in project management, it is applicable to every part of the business and effective for every industry. It addresses our human nature to be motivated by achievements, gives us the freedom to create our own processes, and serves as an excellent premise for tracking the overall process. It also makes it easy to change the approach when things are spotted as not working as intended without sacrificing earlier progress.

Even when setbacks occur, breaking big tasks down can help you use them as a stepping stone for amplifying future achievements. Implementing digital time tracking is also a great aid to this approach. It highlights how practical certain approaches are, nurturing quicker bouncebacks. It also makes tracking the process easy, which serves as a means to keep your teams motivated when working towards their goals and distribute their time and priorities better. It also helps your team to be held accountable without limiting their freedom through micromanagement. 

Need help breaking your tasks down? Or maybe a time tracking solution? We can help.