Why Small Wins Matter: Turning Progress into Motivation

Feb 8

By Sophie Makonnen

This blog is about how small wins feed into motivation. In international development, success is often slow and multifaceted because the work involves addressing complex, systemic challenges that don't have quick solutions. It can take months, even years, to see the outcomes of your efforts. Whether you're coordinating cross-departmental projects, navigating donor requirements, advocating for policy change, delivering training or capacity building, or working on large infrastructure projects, progress is often slow and can feel intangible.

With large, multi-layered tasks and sometimes shifting priorities, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or uncertain of where to start. The scope of work can be so daunting that even taking the first step feels like a challenge. This, in turn, can affect motivation, especially when the end product or meaningful results seem far off.

How do you stay motivated? This is where the concept of small wins comes in—a tool to help you maintain momentum, even in the face of long-term challenges.

Small Wins: The Key to Building Momentum

Small achievements can significantly boost our motivation and well-being. Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, in their book The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, explain that the sense of progress is a powerful driver of motivation. Known as the Progress Principle, their research shows that even minor progress in meaningful work can create a positive cycle: small wins fuel motivation, encouraging further progress, making it easier to stay engaged and overcome challenges.

These small victories don't have to be major milestones—they can range from finishing a simple task to mastering a new skill to overcoming a challenge. What's meaningful is often in the eye of the beholder!

Researchers have shown that the sense of progress is closely tied to dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for motivation and reward. Studies on motivation suggest that dopamine is released not only when we achieve something meaningful but also when we anticipate success. For example, completing even a small task—like sending an email you've been avoiding—triggers a dopamine release, reinforcing that finishing tasks feels rewarding. When you see progress, such as checking an item off your to-do list, your brain "anticipates" that satisfying reward, motivating you to keep going and experience that win again.

Tiny Actions, Big Impact

This ties closely to Brian Jeffrey Fogg's work in Tiny Habits, where he emphasizes that motivation grows when you make actions so small that they are nearly impossible to fail. Instead of overhauling your routine, Fogg recommends anchoring these small habits to something familiar.

For instance, after closing your laptop at the end of the workday, you could do one squat or stretch your arms overhead for 30 seconds. This creates a natural prompt to build healthy habits while reinforcing positive emotions rather than relying on sheer willpower. Over time, these small actions can build momentum, allowing you to gradually increase the intensity or duration as the habit becomes second nature.

Similarly, James Clear's approach in Atomic Habits highlights how small wins create immediate motivation and help reinforce your identity. Each small action becomes evidence of the type of person you're becoming—for example, reading one page of a book enhances the belief that you are "the kind of person who reads." James Clear emphasizes that tracking visible progress, like crossing an item off a to-do list, strengthens this identity shift, making the habit more likely to stick long-term.

Instead of tackling an entire project proposal or a lengthy report in one sitting, break it down into small, achievable tasks. For instance, drafting a single section of the proposal or organizing key data can provide a sense of accomplishment, making the larger task less overwhelming."

Again, by consistently recognizing small accomplishments, we create a positive cycle that builds momentum, making each step forward easier and keeping us motivated to reach a future goal.

Keep Your Motivation Flowing All Day

One way to sustain motivation is to design your day as a series of small wins. By approaching your tasks in manageable pieces, you can maintain steady dopamine and energy levels throughout the day.

Some people thrive by breaking larger tasks into just a few key milestones, focusing on significant progress points that guide them through the process. For example, completing a proposal might involve milestones like gathering research, drafting sections, and finalizing edits. Following the Tiny Habits approach, others might prefer smaller, rapid bursts of action—like writing a single paragraph or organizing one set of notes—because these quick wins feel instantly rewarding and help build momentum. Or, as James Clear suggests, you might build motivation by visually tracking your progress so that your small wins become undeniable proof that you’re making headway.

The key is to experiment and find what works for you.

A Personal Strategy for Procrastination Days

A few years ago, before learning about Tiny or Atomic Habits, I discovered a strategy for getting through my to-do list—especially when I was struggling to focus: I started with preferred tasks. This was before the publications of these books—my approach was intuitive.

At first, I felt guilty using this approach, thinking I was being irresponsible for not tackling the "big-ticket" items right away. But I learned something important: on those tough days when procrastination or overwhelm took over, forcing myself to dive into the most important tasks often backfired. I either struggled to make progress, moved at a snail's pace, or produced work that felt uninspired and lacked creativity. A nice way to say, not very good work. Hence, I got stuck, felt unproductive, and ended the day disappointed for not making the progress I wanted.

By contrast, starting with something I wanted to do—even if it was a more minor, less critical task—gave me a sense of accomplishment, allowing me to build on the emotion. That feeling of progress, however small, created the momentum I needed to take on the more significant items on my list.

Now, when I notice I'm having one of those days, I allow myself to begin with what interests me. More often than not, that small "win" gives me the energy and focus to tackle even the most daunting tasks. I now include a time limit on how much time I can spend on my preferred first tasks. Instead of forcing motivation, I lean into manageable and rewarding actions that feel simple enough to succeed.

This approach has taught me that productivity isn't always about rigidly following a "priority first" rule—it's about finding ways to build momentum and set yourself up for success, one step at a time.

How to Use Small Wins to Build Momentum

Here's how you can put this principle into action and turn progress into motivation:

Break It Down Until It Feels Achievable
Large goals can feel abstract or distant. To build momentum, identify the smallest possible step that feels doable. Instead of “finish the report”, your small win could be drafting the introduction or organising your notes. Then move on to the next step.
Track and Acknowledge Each Step Forward.
Don’t wait for the final milestone to recognize each achievement. Visual cues, such as a streak on a calender or a completed checkbox, reinforce your sense of progress. These cues become satisfying and become reminders of your consistency and that you are on track, making you want to keep the momentum.
Reevalute Progress When Plans Go Off-Course

Sometimes, plans change, or obstacles arise. In these moments, you can still progress by redefining what success looks like. It isn't about lowering expectations but acknowledging and appreciating progress in different forms. Instead of focusing on what didn't happen, reevaluate how what was planned needs to be reassessed and adapted to reach your goal. Ask yourself: "What progress did I make today? - "What needs to be done to reach my goal ?"

Shifting timelines or unexpected changes—like funding delays or policy shifts—are common in global development work. When this happens, it's important to reassess what's achievable and adapt your plan without losing sight of the long-term goal. Small wins during setbacks could mean re-prioritizing tasks or successfully negotiating a new timeline with stakeholders

Progress Over Perfection

There’s no need to wait until you feel 100% ready to start. Motivation often follows action—not the other way around. Completing a small, meaningful step will unlock the energy and confidence you need to keep moving forward.

If you’re facing an important project this week, try the “small wins” approach. Pick a straightforward action you can succeed at today and notice how that sense of progress fuels your next step.

By anchoring your work in small wins, you create sustainable motivation, helping you make steady progress even on the most challenging days.