Christian Rawles
4y ago
I write about my experiences building an apparel brand over the last 12 years.
"Progress happens too slowly to notice, but setbacks happen too quickly to ignore." I can't stop thinking about this sentence from Morgan Housel's pull-quote-packed book The Psychology of Money.
As a small business owner, I know how easy it is to focus on the setbacks and not take the time to celebrate the progress. I'm semi-pro at seeing setbacks before they even happen.
The problem with not taking time to recognize and celebrate the progress is that we're not allowing ourselves the opportunity to build momentum.
The best way to celebrate your progress is to track it on a daily basis.
The four elements of a simple progress journal
I'm a big fan of the One Page Focus Plan so my progress journal builds off of that framework. A simple progress journal is comprised of four parts:
Priorities for the month
Priorities for tomorrow
Progress made today
One thing that made you happy today
Priorities for the month
Monthly priorities are pulled from the quarterly actions on the One Page Focus Plan.
The priorities for the month can be listed at the start of every month in your journal. As you move through each week you can turn back to the monthly priorities to decide how to spend your time for the upcoming week.
Priorities for tomorrow
At the end of each day, list the priorities for tomorrow. Keep the list short and achievable.
The list of priorities for tomorrow acts as your focus during your work day but it also helps break your larger priorities for the month down into tasks. Breaking down larger projects into small, measurable tasks shows you your daily progress.
Progress made today
Write down the list of achievements and progress made for the day. Hopefully the short and achievable priorities list from the previous day makes it easier to accomplish some tasks and see some progress.
By writing down the progress you've made each day you're giving yourself the opportunity to celebrate. Your dopamine fires and a sense of momentum builds.
It doesn't matter if your goals still seems really far away. Tracking your progress will show you that you're getting closer to them every day.
What made you happy today
Write down one thing that brought you happiness today. It doesn't have to be big. Identifying the simple things that make you happy can become a super power.
Recognizing when we're happy, and what makes us happy, in our daily lives is a great antidote to when the setbacks arise in life.
Tracking your progress and paying attention to what is bringing you happiness every day creates positive momentum that will bring you closer to achieving your goals and help you avoid focusing on the setbacks.