Work for Long-Term But Measure the Short-Term
When it comes to getting things done, the best strategy is to rank your priorities and start at the top.
But if your first priority is a really big project that can take several days to finish, it can be frustrating.
Enter Anthony Trollope. In 38 years, he published 47 novels, 18 works of non-fiction, and many other writings.
How was he able to achieve such insane productivity?
He wrote in 15-minute intervals for three hours per day, making sure he wrote at least 250 words on each interval.
Writing a book can take several months and even one chapter can be too big a task for a single day.
Instead of measuring his progress on chapters or books completed, Trollope measured his progress in 15-minute increments.
Small measures of progress help to maintain momentum over the long run, making you more likely to finish large tasks.
And the faster you complete a productive task, the more quickly your day develops an attitude of productivity and effectiveness.
You can employ a similar strategy for other tasks. For example, rather than measuring his progress on a bigger task like monthly revenue, Trent Dyrsmid tracked each sales call he made with a paper clip.
Design a way to get rapid feedback while working on bigger projects.
Work for the long-term. Measure your progress for the short term.