Practice Makes Progress: The Secret to Sustainable Productivity Growth

Are you looking to embrace a “practice makes progress” mindset in your business or work?

Do you want some thoughtful ways to make an impact in your work not only for the short term, but the long term?

In this article, you’ll learn how a “practice makes progress” mindset can be the key to working sustainably in your business and professional life.

Key Takeaways

Table of Contents

What does “practice makes progress” mean?

When you practice something regularly, you naturally get better at it. Your progress might feel slow at first, but over time you figure out what works, what doesn’t, and how to adjust.

This is true whether you’re learning to delegate tasks in your business or learning to be more punctual in your personal life.

That’s where the phrase “practice makes progress” comes in. It’s a gentle reminder that improvement comes from consistent effort, not perfection.

Progress means getting a little better each time you repeat a task, habit, or routine. Small wins do add up over time. And before you know it, those tiny steps can lead to big results.

For example, imagine spending just 15 minutes a day tackling a pile of paperwork. After 30 days, you’d have invested 7.5 hours of time in your project without being overwhelmed by it. That’s the true power of steady, consistent practice.

Why is “practice makes progress” more important than perfection?

Perfection can sometimes seem like the ultimate goal. But in reality, it’s just an ideal.

And that ideal can help guide, encourage, and motivate us to be better every single day in our work.

Unfortunately, when you focus on perfection, you don’t appreciate any of the insights in the challenges you’ve overcome. What’s more, you don’t fully learn from the missteps, mistakes, and setbacks you made.

In my opinion as a productivity coach, progress is a much better reference point. There’s so much more to your work than just the work itself! It really is an opportunity to learn and grow as an individual.

For instance, you can acknowledge and celebrate the gains you’ve made, the lessons you’ve learned, the skills you’ve honed, and the people you’ve impacted.

What’s more, you can use this valuable information to your advantage to become more productive in your work overall.

What are the drawbacks of focusing only on perfection?

It’s always a good idea to work with care and produce quality work. But you don’t want to spend all of your time in perfection mode.

Some potential drawbacks of focusing on perfection include:

• Spending inordinate and unnecessary amounts of time, energy, and resources
• Missing key opportunities to address critical challenges relevant to your business
• Losing sight of oncoming challenges and threats in your business or industry
• Falling behind in business tasks, projects, and assignments for clients and customers
• Creating a toxic work environment for yourself, staff, employees, and contractors
• Developing in-depth, thoughtful, and rewarding professional relationships
• Losing crucial sight of the bigger picture of your business

What stops people from adopting a “practice makes progress” approach?

If practice makes progress, then what holds people back from reaching their goals? Here are three common issues that tend to crop up:

Lack of structure

One of the biggest things I see when working with clients is a lack of structure in their calendars or business. They may have a vague or general idea as to when their work day will start and end. However, they haven’t set specific boundaries for themselves.

Or worse, they kid themselves and say they’ll work on important paperwork when they find the time. The key to success is having a framework in place that allows you to be consistent in your planning and scheduling.

Unclear goals

Most goals are vague, undefined, unrealistic and/or completely unachievable. While it’s always good to aim for excellence, you do need a practical measurement to measure where you’ve been and where you’re going.

Using the SMART goal framework (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound) can help you better understand your goals and track progress. It can also make planning your goal much more doable in the long run.

Burnout

Lastly, one of the number one things that can set you back from succeeding is burnout. You may be overly tired, exhausted, frustrated and not even know it!

Similarly, you may be worn out from work and need a good old-fashioned break. That’s how vacations, extended leaves, personal breaks, and sabbaticals can support your health and well-being.

What are the benefits of “practice makes progress”?

The practice makes progress approach not only affects you as an individual, but your business, and others, too.

Some possible benefits of practice makes progress include:

• A clear sense of how your work connects to the bigger picture
• Strong, relevant skills that fit your industry or expertise
• Awareness of your weaknesses and challenges
• Confidence to teach others the skills you’ve mastered
• The ability to mentor people walking the same path you’ve taken
• Greater confidence in both your professional and personal abilities

Can “practice makes progress” actually improve your productivity?

As a productivity coach, I wholeheartedly believe “practice makes progress” can improve your productivity levels.

I had a client who want to write more in his business. I suggested he schedule time every day to write. Some days he wrote and some days he didn’t. But he kept showing up to his desk, no matter what.

In our sessions together, we uncovered he was actively procrastinating. He thought he should use that time to work on other business tasks. After some reflection, he decide to focus on writing during the allotted time.

In the end, he made great progress in his writing. What’s more, he always learned something new about himself from his daily practice!

Looking to make progress in your productivity levels? Try asking yourself the following questions after finishing a work session:

• What went well?
• What didn’t go so well?
• And what would I do differently next time?

By asking these questions, you acknowledge your progress, even if it’s miniscule.

Even if you think things aren’t changing, take a closer look. Most likely, you’re making changes in areas you haven’t yet considered.

Tracking your progress everyday is an easy way to stay focused on what matters. My Productivity Mindset Planner™ is designed as a daily check-in to help you shift out of overwhelm and into intentional action.

Click the button below to download the planner:

How long does it take to see results with a “practice makes progress” mindset?

Consistency may not seem particularly flashy, sexy, or appealing. But it will get you solid results.

In my experience, results can happen in a matter of weeks with regular and dedicated practice.

If you want to make progress on that marketing project, just do a little bit of work on it every day.

And, if you want to become a better speaker, just practice five minutes of speaking each day.

Those little bits of action and hard work really do add up. But, you must put in the work to get there.

How do you stay motivated when “practice makes progress” feels slow?

Okay, so you’ve been working on your productivity skills for days. But it feels like you’re getting nowhere. What do you do?

Here’s a few tips that can help you still move the needle forward even when you feel as if you’re not getting anywhere.

Celebrate small wins

When something positive happens in your business, embrace it! Take a moment to note how this small win fits into the bigger picture of your business.

It all counts: from learning to use keyboard shortcuts to having having a prospective client return your phone call.

Review your recent growth

One of my favorite ways to break out of a momentum rut is to evaluate my recent growth. This can be as simple as practicing a new thought, skill, or habit.

Here’s one way to do it: leaf through your work planner, calendar, or to-do list. Which tasks did you recently accomplish? How did you feel before? How do you feel now? Honor all the ways you’ve grown since you began.

Work on a different aspect of your work

Doing so will help you shift the energy you bring to it. No longer are you working out of habit or memory. In fact, you’re breaking new ground.

What can you do differently in your work today? Could you brainstorm ideas, try a new routine, learn a different skill, work with someone, visualize your end result, or use the color red as your work theme for the week? The sky’s the limit!

View the issue through a beginner’s eye

If you want to really gauge your progress, pretend you’re a complete novice. Ask the questions a beginner would ask using words like “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” and “why”.

For instance, “Who is involved in this project?,” “What are the project goals?,” “Which tools are we using?,” “Where can we refocus our energy?” Asking curious questions and providing honest answers can be eye-opening.

Review kind words from others

One of my favorite ways to stay motivated is to keep a kudos file. This is a file of compliments, feedback, thank you notes, and kind words that I collect to help me stay focused on my work.

You can make your own file using a physical file folder and collecting emails, notes, and cards. Other methods include jotting down kind words in a large notebook or creating a separate folder in your email account for messages.

Treat yourself in a small way

Sometimes, you need a little treat to brighten your day. Treat yourself to your favorite hot beverage in the morning. How about buying a fun new colorful pair of socks? Giving yourself a manicure?

Listening to an inspirational speech? Taking a super-long nap at home on the weekend? Buying a beautiful set of stickers? How about going for a walk in a beautiful park? Treating yourself counts, no matter how small the action.

How can you track “practice makes progress” in your work?

If you really want to boost your productivity levels, then you’ll need to track your progress. Fortunately, there’s several different ways to do this.

Write about your progress

Use a physical journal or diary to track your progress. Express yourself in any way you find helpful and thought-provoking. For example, write in daily entries, track your accomplishments, or note challenges and successes.

Use a physical tracker

Use a notebook, a wall calendar, or a poster board to visualize your hard work. Gold stars, colorful stickers, or a big “X” with a marker are easy ways to see your progress. Another idea is to drop marbles, pennies, or paperclips into a clear container after you’ve completed your work.

Download a habit-tracking app

Visit your favorite app store or do an internet search for habit-tracking apps. See how many unbroken streaks you can make in your work. You can also schedule tasks into your online calendar or to-do list tracker and use that as a tracker.

Engage in some self-reflection

Visit a park with a stunning view in your home town. Stay for a while and enjoy the scenery. Then, bring your project to mind while taking in the view. What perspective have you gained about your project with this experience?

Meet with a mentor or coach

Mentors and guides can be incredibly helpful on your journey. Thankfully, they can reaffirm the progress you’ve made when you can’t see it yourself. Set up a call with your current mentor or coach. And if you don’t already have one, get a productivity coach.

Chat with a friend

Here’s a fun way to stay motivated with a friend. Schedule regular phone calls or meetings to review your progress. Make sure your meetings stays on topic so you can recount your successes, failures, wins, and valuable experience learned together.

What can you do right now to embrace practice makes progress?

Ready to make progress in your work? Consider any one of the following to get back in the game:

Adopt a growth mindset

See every attempt as a chance to learn, and not to prove yourself. Instead of asking yourself, “Did I succeed?” ask yourself, “What did I learn today?” Then, take that learning to heart and apply it to your next practice session.

Detach your self-worth from outcomes

Relax, progress isn’t about your value as a person. Rather, it’s about refining your skills. Celebrate your effort, not just your results.

Focus on the process

Remember, the real win is showing up consistently every single day. Outcomes are byproducts of habits.

Practice self-compassion

Let’s face it: some days will feel harder than others. Remind yourself that slow and struggling days are part of long-term growth.

Stay curious

Lastly, approach your work like an experiment. Curiosity turns practice into play, which can help keep your motivation alive.

The more you practice these mindset shifts, the more sustainable and rewarding your progress will feel.

Don’t forget, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Be sure you’ve set aside the time you need to hone your craft.

Remember, practice, practice, practice makes progress!

FAQ: Practice makes progress

Conclusion

Progress, not perfection, is what truly fuels lasting growth. By showing up consistently and focusing on small improvements, you create habits that stick and results that last.

It’s important to recognize that mistakes and slow days are just part of the journey, not signs of failure. Remember, every bit of practice adds up, and each step forward is worth celebrating.

If this article resonated, my Productivity Mindset Planner™ is a simple way to practice this approach daily, without adding more pressure to your routine.

Rashelle Isip Productivity Coach and Founder of The Order Expert®

Rashelle Isip is a productivity coach and founder of The Order Expert®. She is a contributing columnist for Inc.com and author of four books. With over 16 years of experience in the productivity industry, Rashelle helps people work comfortably, sustainably, and joyously for the long term.

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