In a post at Great B2B Marketing, Christopher Ryan recalls a fitness instructor who observed how members with New Year's resolutions crowd the gym in January—and often vanish by February. "He said that many people have noble intentions and set major goals," writes Ryan, "but they take an approach bound for failure, by overdoing it in the early stages—for example, exercising every day for an hour or running six miles."

According to Ryan, we tend to be equally overambitious when setting professional goals.

And just as a fitness regimen has better staying power with gradual integration—20 minutes of cardio or jogging around the block, to start—we can improve our business by setting aside 10 goal-oriented minutes each day.

He suggests using that time in ways like these:

• Do something unpleasant. Tackle whatever you've been avoiding for the last few days or months—whether resolved in one 10-minute session or several, you've dealt with something that was taking energy not to deal with.
• Make two phone calls, or send two emails. With very little effort, you will add around 440 personal touch points each year. "And a lot of good things will come from 440 more personal touch points," he notes.
• Contact an important person. Use your 10 minutes to initiate a relationship with someone who is in a position to help you. The most personal approach is by phone or email—but an introduction through LinkedIn can also be effective.

The Po!nt: Make big professional gains with a steady stream of small, easily achievable goals.

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