“Yard by yard, life is hard, but inch by inch, life’s a cinch.”

I’m sure you’ve heard this saying before. But it’s a good reminder that when we focus on only one thing at a time, it’s much easier to see our progress and to stay motivated to keep going. Watch this short video or scroll down to learn more.

That’s why it’s important to understand the difference between projects and tasks. Tasks are individual items to complete, while projects are made up of several tasks. For example, making a telephone call is a task. But putting out your monthly newsletter is a project that includes several tasks, including writing the content, editing the content, choosing images, uploading everything to your newsletter program, etc.

Sometimes we procrastinate or avoid projects because we can’t imagine how we’re going to make the time to do all of those tasks at once. Instead, think only about the next, smallest action you need to take to move the project forward, and schedule time on your calendar to complete that task.

Maybe that next action is just taking 15 minutes to plot out what you want in your newsletter this month. Or emailing a list of the concepts you want your assistant to find images for to include in the newsletter. Once that task is completed, determine what the next action is and immediately schedule that on your calendar. You may be surprised at how much you accomplish.

See more productivity tips:

• Using Canva’s Bulk Create Feature
• How Posting Checklists Can Help Your Marketing
• How to Auto-Archive Email
• De-Clutter Your Email Inbox
• Publish Content Consistently with an Editorial Calendar
• 3 Things to Do For a Productive New Year
• 5 Tips for Improving Your Email Messages
• Improving Your Email Communication
• Delegating Tasks to Technology
• Do You Have Plans and Goals for the Future?