Originally shared via email. For early access to UN job search success tips and advice, subscribe to the newsletter here.

🎉 I'm celebrating a finished project today! Yay! 👏🏼

All credit goes to a productivity hack that’s turned out to be oh so effective – taking micro-actions.

The project I finished was to digitize a box of documents that I needed to keep for future reference. It's a project I've had on my "someday" list since our last move, six (6!) years ago! 🙈

Micro-actions have been a game-changer. Break any big task into tiny steps —something you can finish in two to three minutes, and do it daily, preferably at the same time, or as part of a particular routine.

It's critical that you make it so small that "I don't have time" is rarely a valid excuse not to do it.

For me, the routine was to turn on the scanner on my way to the desk in the morning, and scan 2 documents before I did any other work.

If you miss or skip a day, no worries, just resume where you left off. 

You can use micro-actions to make progress on less repetitive projects too, like your UN job search. Think about the things you know you need to do but rarely take time for (update documents, network, update LinkedIn profile). Breaking it down might mean:

• Updating a single bullet point on your CV.
• Spending two minutes checking for vacancies. 
• Create a draft email, entering only the recipient and the subject line.
• Logging in to a UN application system to update your level of French reading comprehension from "none" to "basic".

With every micro-action, you've lowered the threshold to take the next little step. Progress builds over time, and before you know it, you've got results to celebrate!

I used this same approach to publish my past emails as blog posts — something I had been planning to do forever! Little by little, I got it done, and now there’s a blog with 20 entries, and more coming.

So, if you feel like you're not making the progress you'd like on something, why not give micro-actions a try?

Can’t wait to see what you’ll create!

PS: I’d love to hear what project you'll tackle using micro-actions. Click here and let me know. It'll help with your accountability too! If you’re stuck on how to break something down into bite-sized pieces, let me know — I’d be happy to figure it out with you!