Minimal Viable Progress sounds like an unfamiliar term—and it was for me before reading Essentialism—but it’s a powerful tool.
If you’ve ever worked toward a big goal or project and felt overwhelmed the night before a race or the morning of a presentation, you’re not alone. That feeling usually comes from trying to take on too much at once.
Here’s a simple tool: Minimal Viable Progress.
It’s a question you can ask yourself at any moment:
“What is the smallest action I can take right now that moves me closer to my goal?”
People often fall short on big goals because they start too big. They try to do everything overnight. When that doesn’t work—and it rarely does—they get discouraged and begin to limit what they believe they’re capable of.
But research shows progress is the most effective form of motivation. Progress is built through consistency. Consistency builds momentum, and momentum strengthens our own belief in what we can achieve.
So it’s not that you’re incapable of achieving big things. It’s that you may not be asking the right question.
Instead of thinking about everything at once, ask:
“What’s the smallest thing I can do right now to move forward?”
D.K.
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