--- description: Focus on small steps title: How to Stay Motivated With Difficult Goals, According to Research image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85a646d4a600568e/698867dca988ca2a2b6b4c38/man-jogging-field.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Psychology](/tag/psychology/) ## Psychology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How to Stay Motivated With Difficult Goals, According to Research by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 16, 2015 4:01 AM CUT  Germany, Mannheim, young man jogging Germany, Mannheim, young man joggingGetty Images by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 16, 2015 4:01 AM CUT You can measure progress by how much you’ve completed or how much you have left to do. Research says you’ll be more motivated if you focus on whichever of those two is _smaller_: Via [Eurekalert](http://www.eurekalert.org/pub%5Freleases/2012-04/uocp-sto041612.php "undefined"): --- > “” --- And: --- > “” --- **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/whats-a-trick-for-sticking-to-your-goals/ "undefined")**_._** **Join over 215,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD "undefined")**.** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/ "undefined") [How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-get-people-to-like-you/ "undefined") [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4069815/motivation-goal-setting/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4069815/motivation-goal-setting/"},"headline":"How to Stay Motivated With Difficult Goals, According to Research","datePublished":"2015-10-16T04:01:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:46:50.065Z","description":"Focus on small steps","url":"https://time.com/4069815/motivation-goal-setting/","keywords":["Psychology","Success topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85a646d4a600568e/698867dca988ca2a2b6b4c38/man-jogging-field.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85a646d4a600568e/698867dca988ca2a2b6b4c38/man-jogging-field.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"man-jogging-field","caption":"man-jogging-field","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4069815/motivation-goal-setting/","name":"How to Stay Motivated With Difficult Goals, According to Research"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"JCrew's President On How To Give and Take Criticism","description":"JCrew's President, Jenna Lyons, explains how she got started in the fashion industry, what makes a good mentor and how to gracefully take and delicately give criticism.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/5rVA3aOQ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-10-09T18:41:35.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5rVA3aOQ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4069815/motivation-goal-setting/","duration":"PT2M25S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4069815/motivation-goal-setting/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```