When I was going through my last Hep C treatment I discovered a very helpful way to get through Hep C treatment with weekly achievable goals called Mile Markers.

The same tool can be applied to any goal you are working on. This helpful way to break up the long goal into doable mini goals have proved to be motivating, and help make the big project go faster.

Mozart once said, “The shorter way to do many things is to do only one thing at a time.”

You can break most any project or goal up into small doable segments. With the same principle, “By the yard it’s hard, but by the inch it’s a cinch,” approach, you will find dividing up your project into mini goals called Mile Markers, is a cinch.

For example; if you are working on weight loss, set your Mile Markers at every 5 pounds. Each 5 pounds represents a goal, it’s a doable goal to achieve when your focus is on the mini goal.

How to set your Mile Marker:

For Hep C Treatment: Whatever day of the week you began treatment that is your Mile Marker Day. My Hep C treatment began on a Monday, so each Monday was my Mile Marker Day. I learned not to focus on the long haul of treatment because it seemed overwhelming and discouraging.

Whatever your goal, design your Mile Marker according to your project. You can choose a day of the week, or a mini goal to achieve, whatever it is log it on your calendar. Make a way to check off each day, or daily progress made.

I recommend setting weekly Mile Markers because this helps you to stray on track. Each day I concentrated on what I needed to do to get through the day. Each day brought me closer to the next until I reached my Mile Marker Day and completed another week. When I reached the goal of getting to this important day of the week, mentally I picked up a victory flag and focused on getting to the next Mile Marker Day. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned months. Before you know it your goal will be achieved.

Each day that you work on your project or goal, you are literally making an investment in your future! Here’s how I look at it, it’s taking care of what God has entrusted to us. All that He gives us is just a loan anyway. Nothing is for keeps except for one thing, His love. So taking care each day of what He has entrusted to my care helped change my focus and thoughts on what I was doing and why.

Another helpful tip is setting special Mile Markers along the way. For my Hep C treatment, it was completing a box or bottle of medication.  It was also a blood test or report, or reaching a certain day in my treatment. You can design your special Mile Markers according to your project or goal. Just make it doable yet a bit challenging.

Don’t get Tripped up

On the Hep C treatment I was on, it was common for energy and side effects to fluctuate. It was important that I did not allow when I was experiencing a drop in energy or felt bad to trip me up, and hijack my emotions into taking me on trip I didn’t need to go on.

Remember this, no matter what you’re project or goal is, there are going to be high’s and low’s along the way. Don’t allow those times of feeling low or bad to side track you from focusing on your goal, and the finish line. Get right back up and get back at it. YOU CAN DO THIS!

“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.” Deuteronomy 30:11

If you begin to feel like you’re running out of gas, or feel overwhelmed, remember, this is temporary. This too shall pass! You will get through this. This is a temporary time compared to the rest of your life.

By focusing on your Mile Markers and not allowing low spots to trip you up, you can achieve your goal in whatever project you are working toward. Victory is right in front of you!

Steady on my friend, steady on!

This entry was originally published on Life Beyond Hepatitis C, and is reprinted with permission.