There are so many people talking about growth, progress, and self-development these days but what does progress feel like? If you’re like me it can be tough to remember how things felt yesterday, let alone last week or last month and most changes don’t happen overnight – it’s a process that takes weeks or months.

No matter what it is you’re trying to improve in yourself: exercising to get in shape, learning and new language or improving your drawing skills; how do you know your efforts are producing results? These are 3 areas i’m currently working on, whilst working on new ideas for paintings so here are a few things I’ve learned that help me stay on track:

1. Make it a habit. Goals are great but habits are stronger. Our habits shape us and it’s easier to keep it up if you’re used to regular practice. Goals can be very motivating, but what happens when you complete a goal? Make enjoying regular practice the goal. You can have goals within the regular practice, but if you’re looking to develop a skill long-term this is the best approach. Here the goal is to get started (no mean feat in itself) and keep the chain going.

2. Track progress. This can be as simple as a note in your diary on days when you complete a session/lesson. Lots of exercise apps track data and my language app always tells me how many days I’ve practised. Each day you then tick off becomes a mini reward which demonstrates your development.

3. Take time to reflect. Look back at regular intervals, each week, and each month to see how far you’ve come. In each moment progress feels slow, but each day adds up. Expectations can kill your motivation, so having set time to look back, and assess what’s working and what needs improvement helps separate the critique from the activity. In these moments you can adjust course and identify where you need to put extra effort in your regular practice.

There’s lots of advice out there on how to work better, and you must find your own balance of structure and flexibility. Making time to practice, track and review your development is, for me, essential. Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen my Ukrainian vocabulary expand, and my drawing skills sharpen and felt stronger. Making habits of practising these skills has lowered barriers to work. Making time to exercise, practice Ukrainian or work on my drawing is now less of an effort so I can focus on improving the quality of each session. I’m looking forward to sharing more results as I progress, thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts on this.

What does progress feel like? The good, the bad and the ugly.