Try ‘Chunking’ to stay motivated
Big, ambitious goals can feel overwhelming. Long-term goals can feel so far away that they seem almost unachievable. However, if you’re focusing only on smaller, short-term goals, it can feel like you’re working so hard, but you forget what it’s all for. When this happens, it’s easy to lose motivation.
To tackle this, I love using a technique called ‘chunking’:
■ Imagine yourself on a ladder, standing on the first rung.
■ As you look up to the top of the ladder, you can see your big, ambitious, long-term goals.
■ At the bottom, where you are now, is your current ‘mini’ goal.
■ Each of the rungs on the ladder represents the steps or smaller goals that you need to achieve to hit your bigger goal.
■ At some stage during your day, you might find yourself staring at the top of the ladder, unable to see any of the rungs between you and the top. It might feel exciting and ambitious, but it might also feel scary and overwhelming.
■ Or you might find yourself staring straight at the next rung of the ladder, unable to look up. You feel like you’re working really hard, perhaps completing menial tasks and for what? You’re possibly losing sight of that end goal.
‘Chunking’ is essentially breaking down a big goal or scaling up small goals. When the small goals feel too frustrating or menial, chunk them up. What do the next four, five or six small goals add up to? What’s the bigger picture? When the big goal feels too big, chunk down. Don’t forget your overall goal, but also remember the smaller, more manageable steps you need to take in order to achieve it.