One day, facing a messy kitchen, I was overwhelmed. Every table was cluttered. Dishes were stacked. And worst of all, I had no motivation to begin.

That’s when something clicked — a mental trick that genuinely helped me start, stay focused, and finish strong. Since then, I've been using this method across many areas of life, and it's turned into a simple but powerful system. I want to share it here in case it helps others too.

The Problem: Overwhelm

When we're surrounded by chaos — whether physical (a messy room), digital (an overflowing inbox), or mental (a big project) — we tend to procrastinate. We scroll, we drift, we “just check” something.

What stops us from starting is often not the task itself, but the lack of a clear entry point. The mind resists fuzzy effort.

The Solution: Microtask Momentum

Instead of trying to “clean the kitchen,” I tried something new:

I decided I would do just 10 tiny tasks — and I’d number them as I went.

1: Move the stuff off table A and clean it.
2: Move the contents of table B to table C and wipe B.
3: Wash the dishes.
4: Put all utensils from table A back in drawer 1.
5: Throw out the trash from under the sink.
...
10: Sweep the floor.

Each task took about 3–5 minutes. I didn't overthink or write anything down — just counted them mentally and tracked progress by number.

And something unexpected happened:
Once I hit number 3 or 4, I was in the zone. The motivation I lacked at the start kicked in through momentum.

By the time I reached task 10, the kitchen was tidy — and I wanted to keep going.

Why It Works

There are a few principles at play here:

Pre-decision triggers focus
Before each task, I’d think:
“Okay, microtask 4: put utensils away.”
That mental cue created clarity. No ambiguity, no room for scrolling.
Micro-goals beat macro-overwhelm
I wasn't trying to "clean the whole kitchen" — just 10 little things.
The brain loves finishing small things.
Directional progress gives visual feedback
I cleaned left to right — watching the space become tidy helped fuel more action.

Scaling the Method

After that experience, I started applying it to everything:

Organizing a room: Microtask 1 to 10 = one side of the room
Responding to emails: Microtask 1 = high priority, 2 = low priority
Studying: Microtask 1 = review notes, 2 = make flashcards, 3 = quiz self
Working out: Microtask 1 = squats, 2 = rest, 3 = pushups...

It became a universal system.
To keep track, I built a Microtask Tracker Sheet — a printable sheet with categories (Home, Work, Study, Fitness, Personal), and columns where I mark off each microtask as I complete it.

Beneath the tracker, I log which numbers correspond to which task, like:

Work 1–4 = Fix bug in dashboard
Work 5–8 = Document API
Fitness 1–3 = Squats, planks, stretch

Even if I hadn’t time-blocked my day, I could still look back and see progress — with timestamps or time spent for each block.

Is This New?

I’ve read a lot on productivity — Time Blocking (Cal Newport), GTD (David Allen), Atomic Habits (James Clear), Pomodoro, etc.

This idea feels a bit different.

It’s tactile and mental, no fancy system required.
It starts with action, not planning.
It works even when your day is chaotic — you just count and go.

Want to Try It?

This image shows an example of how to use the Micro-tracker system. On a single page, you'll find two main sections.

1. Micro-task Tracker (Top Section):
Here, you define your task categories. For each category, there’s space to mark up to 40 ticks throughout the day. A totalizator column on the right helps you quickly sum up ticks for each category. At the bottom of this section, there's an overall totalizator that adds up all the ticks across categories, giving you a snapshot of your day’s activity.

2. Task Breakdown Sheet (Bottom Section):
This part links your ticks to specific larger tasks. It allows you to track how many ticks were spent on each individual task, whether or not they’re tied to a category from the top section.

The system is flexible:

You can log tasks that correspond to ticks in the micro-task tracker.
Or, you can track time-based tasks independently here.

Thanks for reading the full article! As a programmer, I’m naturally tempted to build an app for this system but for now, I’m choosing to keep things simple and stick with paper. There's something satisfying and tangible about tracking progress this way.

If you’ve come across a similar method before, I’d love to hear about it. And if you decide to try this one out, let me know how it goes—I’m genuinely curious to see how it works for others!

Microtasks: Maybe a New Productivity Hack?