Use a level-up strategy to increase your motivation toward a goal

Turn each chapter or book you complete into a milestone
If you want to read a very long book, turn every chapter into a milestone. Once you finish a chapter, recognize your effort by celebrating yourself. If you want to read an entire book series, then turn each book into a milestone and reward yourself after completing each book.

Learn a new language by setting up progress markers
Let’s say you want to learn Spanish so that you can have full conversations with a new Spanish friend. Start taking small steps such as trying to understand the headline of a Spanish newspaper, ordering a meal in Spanish, watching a Spanish cartoon, and reading a kindergarten book written in Spanish. This will allow you to practice Spanish in your everyday life instead of waiting to squeeze a Spanish class into your schedule.

Separate a big business goal into recognizable milestones
Let’s say you want your team to increase customer satisfaction by 30% within the next quarter. Use the bigger goal to create multiple milestones for your team to focus on. For example, “Get a glowing thank-you from a satisfied client” and “Resolve the biggest complaint customers had last month.” Then celebrate each milestone the team achieves.

Lose a lot of weight by focusing on small achievements
Instead of saying, “I want to lose 20 pounds in 3 months,” create intermediate milestones that can push you through the tough phases of your plan. For example, commit to going for 1 week without using the elevator. Then spend the next week without drinking any alcohol. In the 3rd week, commit to jogging continuously for three songs on your playlist. Take pride in every milestone you complete instead of worrying about the overall goal.