The calendar flips to January, and suddenly everyone’s thinking big. New Year’s resolutions. Company goals. Team objectives. There’s something about a fresh start that makes us feel like anything’s possible.
Unfortunately, research tells us about 80% of New Year’s resolutions fizzle out by February. And those carefully thought-out work goals? They often don’t do much better. Life gets busy. Urgent stuff pops up. Before you know it, those ambitious plans are collecting dust somewhere in your desk drawer or buried in a forgotten Notion doc.
“Okay,” you might be thinking, “but some people do stick with their goals. What’s their secret?”
We recently revisited Teresa Amabile’s research in “The Progress Principle” about what really motivates us at work, and she found something useful for keeping those ambitious January goals.
After studying thousands of diary entries from all kinds of professionals, Amabile discovered that our best days aren’t about big breakthroughs or checking off lots of little tasks. What really keeps us going is making small but meaningful progress on work that matters to us.
Think about that for a second. It’s not about having a massive win or clearing your inbox. It’s about being able to look back at your day and say, “Hey, I moved things forward a bit on something that actually matters.”
Want to put this to work for your goals this year? Here’s how:
- Get Clear on Why It Matters
Before you jump into action mode, take a breath and think about why your goal matters to you. Skip the corporate-speak. Instead of “increase revenue by 20%,” dig into what that really means. Maybe it’s about helping more customers solve their problems, or making sure your team has the resources to do their best work. When things get tough (and they will), having a clear “why” makes all the difference. In a work context, it’s often useful to connect your goal to both organizational and personal purpose. - Find Your “Just Right” Progress for Today
It’s a tricky balance: you want progress that’s small enough to actually get done, but meaningful enough to matter. It’s tempting to take on too much (“I’ll redesign the entire system!”) or settle for busy work that feels productive but doesn’t move you toward your goal (“I’ll organize my project folders!”). Instead, ask yourself: “What’s one small piece of real progress I could make today that would actually matter?” - Make Your Progress Impossible to Miss
Create a system that shows you—clearly and unavoidably—whether you’re making progress. Maybe you keep a simple journal, put up a progress board where you can’t miss it, or check in with a friend who’s working toward similar goals. Whatever works for you—just make it so obvious you can’t ignore it or talk yourself out of seeing it. - Guard Your Progress Time
We often know what meaningful progress looks like, but we let other stuff crowd it out. Block off time in your calendar for goal-focused work, and then get a little selfish about protecting it. Think of it as an investment in keeping your promises to yourself. When something else tries to steal that time, ask yourself: “Is this really more important than the meaningful goal I committed to?”
What I love about this approach is that it’s actually doable. Instead of trying to make huge leaps forward or beating yourself up when you can’t, you focus on steady progress that adds up over time. It’s like walking instead of sprinting—you might not move as fast in any given moment, but you can keep going way longer.
Every cool thing humans have ever built—from the pyramids to your favorite app—happened one day at a time. Your goals work the same way.
What small-but-meaningful thing will you move forward today?
Go Deeper
Personal Goals: For more on how to set clear, effective goals for your own personal development, check out our Effective Goal Setting self-paced online course.
Team Goals: For more on how to help your team set clear and effective goals, join our upcoming Certified Scrum Product Owner workshop.
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