Do you ever feel like there’s so much on your plate that you can’t comprehend just how you’ll get it all done? Sometimes life piles on responsibilities so mercilessly that we start to drown. The wind gets taken out of your sails and you stay in port, going nowhere.

Stop looking at it all. Instead, get granular with your day.

Our perception is the main culprit. We don’t view goals in terms of small, progressive steps, but as monumental endeavors that seem impossible. When we look at the accomplishments of our peers or mentors, we only see the achievement, not the steps and work it took to get there.

Sometimes, due to a combination of factors, we find ourselves paralyzed, looking at the day ahead like a deer in the headlights. The internet has not helped, where the receipt of an email can send us plummeting down a click hole that derails our productivity and kills our drive.

We look at life as a huge task to be conquered, but reality has never allowed for sweeping accomplishment to occur in a vacuum. We must look at the future in small segments. The goals of each day need to be chipped away at with consistency, not with epic bouts of inhuman productivity.

Make a list. Schedule every minute of your daily agenda. Cross things off your list and stick to your agenda no matter what. A war has never been won without smaller battles, and battles can’t be won without consistent, concentrated progress.

Procrastination breeds worry. Action breeds energy.

Pick a task and execute a solution until that task is over with. Move on to the next task. Repeat. Don’t waste another minute overwhelmed and standing still. In time you’ll find that accomplishing one task provides momentum for tackling another and this series of victories throughout the day keep us energized and productive.