Achieving Big Career Goals: The Power Of Taking Microactions

Have you ever considered making a big career move only to put it off indefinitely? Maybe you were unhappy in your job and wanted to explore a different career path. Or you considered starting your own independent business but could never quite take the leap.

The truth is, even if you have an idea that seems appealing to pursue, simply maintaining the status quo in your career tends to involve the least friction. Taking concrete actions to pursue those ideas involves much more effort and energy. Many goals feel daunting to achieve at the outset. To turn your ideas into a reality, you have you start by taking small, manageable steps.

I Initially Put Off Pursuing My True Interests

Going back to my days as a child, I always loved radio. I used to spend afternoons sitting in my closet at home and record made-up news broadcasts onto a cassette recorder. I’d pretend to give the day’s weather or news report, or I’d interview my sister who would pretend to be some expert commentator. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had a natural interest in broadcast journalism. I never really pursued it professionally aside from a brief stint in radio journalism.

However, many years later, I considered starting a podcast about people who have relaunched their careers. Initially, I was too intimidated by the technical aspects of podcasting and complexities of starting a show to actually pursue it. I didn't know where to start with it all, so I the idea sat dormant for a long time.

Microactions Can Move Your Career Forward

As someone who has experienced this struggle of taking concrete steps to turn my ideas into reality, I've found that breaking down my ideas into manageable microactions is one way to overcome this hurdle.

A microaction is a small, discrete, manageable task with a clear start and end that you can start working on right away and complete without too much friction. By breaking down larger goals or tasks into a series of microactions, you can make the process of moving toward a goal less daunting and more achievable.

For instance, if you want to start a business, you might break down your goal into smaller tasks such as researching your market, developing a business plan, and creating a marketing strategy. If you want to switch career paths, you may need to first take stock of your interests and skills, conduct some informational interviews to assess what options exist for you, upskill where necessary, then start applying for roles. If you want to start a podcast like I once did, you will need to come up with a topic, figure out the technicalities of recording, and sort through how to get your show distributed.

Completing Small Tasks Is Easier Than Taking Massive Actions

While breaking a goal down into tasks is helpful, the key is to then take the additional step of further breaking these broader tasks into even smaller microactions, which allows you to start making immediate progress so the process feels less daunting.

For example, going back to the podcast idea, the first task of coming up with a topic actually means you must:

1. Schedule an hour to brainstorm anything that comes to mind
2. Write down all those ideas
3. Browse through existing podcasts to trigger additional ideas
4. Decide on a criteria to narrow to a lead idea
5. Filter ideas using those criteria
6. Etc., etc. . .

Breaking down your ideas into microactions is a simple but effective strategy for creating a new chapter in your career. It helps to eliminate the feeling of overwhelm that often comes with tackling a big, daunting project. Instead of focusing on the vague idea of reaching your end goal, you can take one small step at a time, which can help build momentum and remain motivated.

Slow And Steady Wins The Race

The process of breaking down your ideas into microactions can be applied to any area of your life, whether it's starting a new business, learning a new skill, or pursuing a career change. Here are some steps you can take to get started:

1. Define your career goal: Start by clearly defining which professional goal you want to accomplish. This could be anything from starting a business to learning a new set of skills.
2. Break it down into tasks: Once you have defined your goal, break it down into smaller, manageable tasks.
3. Break it down further: Try to identify smaller, manageable microactions you could start completing immediately. Each microaction should start with a verb. E.g., write, research, explore, contact, etc.
4. Prioritize: Once you have broken down your goal into microactions, prioritize what needs to be done first, either by importance or sequence.
5. Schedule it: Block off time in your calendar to complete your microactions. Treat them as non-negotiable appointments with yourself.
6. Take action: Start working through your list of microactions, one at a time. Even you like the feeling of checking off things on a to-do list, you can also track your progress to build momentum and keep moving forward.

Completing Microactions Creates Momentum

By breaking down our ideas into microactions, you can begin to move closer to turning your ideas into reality. It's a simple but effective strategy that can help you make concrete strides and achieve actual results.

So the next time you have a great idea for your career, don't let it just hang out in your head. Figure out a potential first step, break it down, then start taking small actions that create eventual progress. You might just surprise yourself with how far you can get.