Tips & Tricks: This article is part of a series of articles that offer ideas on using Things in your daily life – it’s meant to inspire and guide, not dictate. Feel free to adapt the suggestions to fit your needs.

Have you ever scribbled down a to-do, only to find yourself postponing it indefinitely? You’re not procrastinating – you might simply be staring at the ultimate goal you want to reach, rather than the next actionable step you need to take.

Here’s how to break down overwhelming goals into manageable bites using Things.

Complete small goals with checklists

Sometimes, the solution is as simple as creating a checklist . Checklists are perfect for smaller goals where you know exactly what steps are involved. They transform something like “Renew passport” into a detailed list of items, such as finding out the opening hours of the agency, gathering a list of required documents, and more, making it easier to get started.

To complete your to-do, list the separate steps in a checklist and tick them off as you finish them.

Manage bigger goals with projects

For bigger to-dos, create a project . Projects allow each step to become a to-do, complete with notes, tags, and dates if needed. Use headings to organize long lists, grouping related tasks together. Each completed step builds momentum, turning that overwhelming project into a series of small wins.

Turn complex to-dos with many steps into a project. Add notes, tags, checklists, and dates to the separate steps as needed.

Here are some tips to get the most out of your projects:

  • Convert to-dos to projects. If a to-do with a checklist becomes unwieldy, just convert it to a project, instantly turning each checklist item into its own to-do.
  • Avoid over-planning. You don't need a full roadmap for every new project. Just focus on the next 1-3 steps to maintain momentum.
  • Projects are just like to-dos. Add deadlines, schedule them for later, indefinitely postpone them in Someday, and complete them when they’re done.
  • See all goals in one place. The All Projects list gives you an overview of current and future projects, revealing the bigger picture.
See all your projects together in one place.

By breaking goals into small, actionable steps, Things helps make even the most daunting tasks achievable. Check out the following resources to dive deeper into some topics mentioned in this tutorial.

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