Are Micro-Steps the Key to Achieving Your Dreams?

Getting-enough-sleep guruArianna Huffingtoncalls this breakthrough “Microsteps,”aka“Thebig idea that’s too small to fail.”麦ing meaningfullifestyle变化,她写道,should require laughably little effort.That’s how you make them stick.Huffington quotesStanfordbehavioralresearcherB.J. Fogg: “To create a new habit, you must first simplify the behavior.麦e it tiny, even ridiculous. A good tiny behavior is easy to do—and fast.”Thisideaof “micro-progress”has also been championed by theNew York Times:“For any task you have to complete, break it down into the smallest possible units of progress and attack them one at a time,” writes columnist Tim Herrera.Setting and achieving what he calls “micro-goals” actually tricks your brain into producing dopamine—or what we like to call “productivity juice.”And anyamount ofproductivity begets more productivity.

If you feel easilyand frequentlyoverwhelmed, join the club.When you think about it, to-do lists are really just menus offering choices of whataction to takenext.What paralyzes us as we confront our lists is something calledthe“paradox of choice.”Human beings are hardwired to shut down in the face of too manyoptions.Water flows toward the path of least resistance; when our ambition outweighs our bandwidth,wetend toflow toward our couch,where we passively scroll through Instagramtilltwo in the morningwhileeatingNutella from the jar.

Want toread more books? Read a paragraph (or a sentence!) every night before bed.Planto overhaul yourhealth?取代了——只有一个- - - - - -dailydiet soda/vanilla lattewith a glass of water. Or,eatanymealyou canon a real plateusingactualutensilswhile sitting down(it allreportedlyhelps usslow downand make betterchoices).Down on yourselfbecause you can’t seem tomeditate?Sit in silence fora fewseconds.Yearn topurgeyour closetintoachicminimalist dreamscape?Donate or resell onebarely-worn item a week (ortargetone a month; don’t be a hero).Desperate to clean your entire house frombaseboardsto ceiling fans?Attackone highlyvisible element,like the kitchencounters,with wipes.Hopingto sound more sophisticated at work? Tryto nixthe word “like”or “literally” or “basically”or “actually”fromyour nextconversation.Bleeding money?Download an appthat converts your loose change into savings.It’s all about baby steps.Startsmall.Easier is better.Don’ttry totake on the world. It’s your best shot at conquering it.