Most people think of success as some far-off, massive goal—a big promotion, the extensive initiative accomplished. But all long-term success is created through small, daily actions compounded over time. Rather than getting overwhelmed thinking about lofty goals and big projects, real and lasting progress happens through daily discipline focused on intentional results.
In my book The Day Makes the Year (Makes a Life), I introduce the powerful concept of “One-Day Success,” used in recovery to help millions of people change and save their lives. The idea of One-Day Success is that we can achieve tremendous long-term success through intentional actions taken 1 day at a time. You attain One-Day Success when you’ve made meaningful advancement in your work and life, progressing beyond where you were the previous day.
This principle applies perfectly to the HR field. So often, HR professionals have huge initiatives they want to undertake—overhaul the performance review system, increase diversity hiring, or double employee engagement scores. While these are worthy and necessary aspirations, the scale of change required can seem daunting. However, by focusing on small but purposeful actions daily, HR leaders can steadily build the momentum needed to achieve big results.
For example, you carve out an extra 15 minutes reviewing résumés to keep your pipeline full today. Or, you block out 30 minutes to update one HR policy or procedure or have a 15-minute one-on-one with a manager to improve their ability to coach and lead. These contained daily actions may not seem like much independently, but string them together consistently over weeks and months, and you end up with strengthened talent pipelines, updated HR systems, and improved employee development. The compounding benefits of daily intentional effort will lead to long-term success.
So, rather than getting caught up with the enormity of your HR goals, take it 1 focused day at a time. Progress and change happen through daily discipline. In HR and life, One-Day Success paves the path to achievement.
The Power of Small Daily Actions
It’s easy to see big-picture HR goals like improving culture, increasing retention, or transforming technology platforms as intimidating projects. But these massive undertakings can be broken down into bite-size daily actions that slowly drive progress.
Recognizing and praising one extra employee each day sincerely requires little effort but boosts morale and engagement. Spending 15 minutes reviewing résumés keeps your pipeline full of talent to support current and future needs. Calling one strategic partner or vendor strengthens that relationship and improves collaboration. A focused, no-distraction, 15-minute one-on-one meeting with a direct report builds connection and shows employees you care. Spending 30 minutes updating HR policies and procedures improves systems.
None of these small actions individually transforms the organization. But string them together consistently over time, and you end up with the kind of long-term success that once seemed unattainable. Daily discipline compounded over weeks and months creates momentum and movement.
Set Daily Intentions
The key is being intentional about identifying and completing these bite-size daily actions. Don’t just get caught up in reacting to the urgent and put off proactive progress. Time-block your calendar each morning to determine your most important one or two HR actions for that day.
Maybe Tuesday is about employee recognition, so you plan extra time to engage twice as many employees as usual. Wednesday, you schedule extended time for résumé reviews to fill that open req. Friday, you’ll tackle catching up on some of the changes happening in upcoming benefit changes.
Setting a daily intention ensures you regularly complete small but incremental actions that stack up. Tracking completed tasks provides a sense of accomplishment and motivation to keep moving forward, even if the big goals still feel far away.
Find Your One-Day Success Actions
Daily, specific small actions should align directly with your larger HR goals and strategy. Make a list of the big-picture changes you want to achieve. Then, brainstorm specific, tiny actions you could take daily to build toward those goals.
For example, if you want to improve employee retention, small daily actions might include:
- Checking in with one unhappy or at-risk employee
- Meeting with a newer employee
- Taking a rising star to coffee to discuss career growth
- Reviewing engagement survey results to identify issues
- If your goal is bringing on new HR technology, daily actions could be:
- Reaching out to demos with one new vendor
- Reading reviews on software for 15 minutes
- Discussing new tools with an end user
- Documenting pain points with the current system
Let your big-picture goals guide which small daily actions you choose to focus on. The momentum of daily progress will drive achievement.
Start Small
The most important thing is to start somewhere. Perfectionism and procrastination are the enemies of creating consistent One-Day Success. You don’t have to overhaul everything today. Identify just one or two simple actions you can take in the next 24 hours to move yourself or your HR department forward in a measurable way.
Maybe today, you set 15 minutes aside to skim industry news and stay updated on trends. Or, you’ll introduce yourself to a new employee and learn about the person’s background for 10 minutes. Tiny steps count when taken consistently, especially in the people around you.
Once you build momentum with small successes, you can add more daily actions or expand the time spent. But don’t let the perfectionist urge to maximize every moment keep you from starting small. True success is created in these small steps you take.
Celebrate Daily Progress
A critical component of One-Day Success is celebrating daily achievements, no matter how small they seem. Don’t dismiss a day’s accomplishment just because it wasn’t earth-shattering. Marking completed actions creates positive reinforcement that motivates you to take steps daily.
Publicly praise colleagues who took a small but impactful action. Maintain a progress journal tracking the daily steps you take. Verbally acknowledge to yourself each night the progress made that day, and allow yourself to feel good about moving forward.
Progress compounds when consistent, daily actions are taken with intention and purpose. In HR and life, lasting success is built 1 focused day at a time through discipline and celebrating small incremental progress. The 1-day philosophy offers a simple but profound path toward achieving your biggest professional goals and aspirations.
Known as The Daily Performance Expert, Doug Fleener is an ex-addict turned successful CEO, business advisor, keynote speaker, and coach. His extensive experience and journey of over 30 years in recovery and business give him a unique perspective with proven expertise and fast, high return-on-investment (ROI) results. His new book is The Day Makes the Year (Makes a Life): Transform your work and life with One-Day Success.