More Answers... (5/11/25 Newsletter): Making Progress Depends on Measuring Progress
The More Answers Newsletter
Hi Everyone, how are you on this Sunday evening (USA East-Coast time)? Let's talk about PROGRESS as a workplace motivator!!
And remember to sign up for the newsletter for bonus material!! (https://www.askchrista.com/newsletter/)
One of the best ways to feel a boost is to feel like you're making progress. No one wants to feel like they're running in place, breaking a sweat, yet barely making any movement. Stunted growth does not perpetuate growth. We all hit plateaus, but the longer the plateau, the harder it is to keep going. As humans, we want to grow. Even those with a fixed mindset want to grow-- they just prefer to do it slowly, within bounds,without too much change in the meantime.
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"And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean." (Forrest Gump (1994) - Quotes - IMDB, n.d.)
This metaphor of running in place and walking never-ending plateaus becomes all the more frustrating if by running so much, we also become better trained, more fit, with higher stamina, and improved skills-- top athletes, if you will, yet no where to seriously compete or strive and thrive. All this muscle with nothing to lift.
We're simply running. Endlessly. Day in and day out.
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There are a lot of reasons why this happens, but what I care about are ways you can best cope until you can get on a better track, feeling like you're at least going somewhere, and one of the best coping techniques is to shift how you measure your progress.
To note, one of the most endearing and unique aspects to Forrest Gump is his presumed lack of big goals and measuring his progress against them. He truly lived in the moment, swept up serendipitously in various scenarios that repeatedly put him in some of the most impactful moments in history, yet he took it all in stride.
But that's not us, certainly not the average employee dealing with today's business challenges and workplace issues.
And even Forrest, when faced with one of the most stressful moments in his life, did what? He started running. He just kept running. Movement. Going somewhere. Anywhere.
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Movement. Feels. Better. Than. Staying. Still.
This is when HOW we measure progress chance everything !
How we talk about the "how" of or progress could be the difference it takes to remind ourselves that we're not standing still.
Considering some of the more complex questions coming in ("how do I raise my rates as a freelancer?" "how to I think about time management if I can't control time?" "how can I feel strategic in an organization that isn't strategic?"), this idea of HOW we measure progress seems right tonight.
TIP FOR YOUR WEEK!!!
JUST THIS ---> Measure your progress by RATE vs by NUMBER
Numbers are just numbers, so if you want to understand progress, use arate (%), not a number. By shifting to rates, you are moving away from the numbers in your head and toward a progress bar instead. The biggest difference is you're now relating your progress with a denominator, including the "done" number.
Below are some examples. Think about which ones provide the best indicator of progress:
Example #1:
"I ate four chocolates from the box" (number)
vs
"I ate four out of 30 chocolates from the box." (rate)
Example #2:
"I went to work four days this week."
OR
"I went to work four out of the four days I was scheduled this week (or I wen to work 100% of the time this week)."
Example #3:
"I finished three assignment this week."
OR
"I finished 100% of my assignments this week."
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Using rates offers perspective, and if we don't have perspective when thinking about progress, then it doesn't matter how much we've completed because it's not in the context of the work.
Is it progress if we completed just one project last week?
Well, YEAH, if it was a really big project and means we completed 100% of our projects. But think about how it changes if we completed just one project last week amidst the 15 current projects?
That's perspective. Try it-- use rates to measure your progress, not numbers.
Meanwhile, keep your questions coming! I'm here to LIFT YOU UP, support you, and be with you throughout your work days.
And remember, if you have a business challenge or workplace issue-- Ask Christa!
MEDIA TO PUT IT IN PLAY!!!
1. It's easy to lose motivation when we feel stagnant-- as though we aren't making progress.
Here's a great article from HBR to offer ways to remain motivated when it's tough to feel motivated, particularly when seeking ways to feel like we're making progress (there's a full section on "Sustaining Progress"):
Fishbach, A. (2018, November 1). How to Keep Working When You’re Just Not Feeling It. https://hbr.org/2018/11/how-to-keep-working-when-youre-just-not-feeling-it
2. Matthew McConaughey.
Love him or annoyed by him, he can PREACH! Important note: I craft these newsletters after reflecting on common themes I'm seeing in the questions I'm receiving for the Ask Christa! podcast, and THEN I find these extra resources. I do not choose the media or articles ahead of the newsletter topic, so I am reading and watching/listening to what I offer to you for the first time BEFORE I share them.
If you track his 1990s success in rom-coms then what it took for him to feel successful after that decade-- like he was making progress as an actor--you may feel he is surprisingly relatable.
These five minutes has a few intense and dramatic seconds that may not be for everyone, but the message is a good one for all of us: to focus on our progress, we need to be focused on what will enable progress. I will add this: what enables progress also enables us to measure it properly and with perspective.
Life Advice. (2023, November 12). 5 minutes for the next 50 years -Mathhew McConaughey motivational speech [Video]. YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbL0X3B4mjg
3. The Power of Framing Progress Through the Need to Feel Motivated to Make Progress.
We weigh ants every day. I found this TEDx talk from Mehrnaz Bassiri to have a few key moments that reminds us to measure our progress in the small-wins-way and the importance of focusing on progress.
TEDx Talks. (2018, May 4). To achieve success, start detecting your smallwins | Mehrnaz Bassiri | TEDxChilliwack [Video]. YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxGapZbbI38
See you next week!!!
With kindness,
Christa
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Reference
Forrest Gump (1994) - Quotes - IMDB. (n.d.). IMDb.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109830/quotes/Ask Christa!