When a person is low in mood, anything can seem like a gargantuan task – It’s part of the depression mindset.

So the person puts off doing things, taking duvet days and letting the chores build up. And then the things that only seemed like big things suddenly really are. And then mood drops further.

If some of these tasks impact on others or have a level of urgency or importance associated with them, stress and anxiety can also begin to creep up. You don’t need me to tell what happens to the mood then.

With these tasks piling up and the mood dropping, we need to get clever and stop this cycle spinning any faster. Mini Projects please stand up.

A Mini Project is any small chore or task that lasts no more than about an hour (if using the technique to achieve more whilst not actually depressed, we can push this an extra 30 minutes).

But what if our job list includes mostly tasks that will last longer? Simply break them into smaller parts. And don’t worry about quick completion.

The whole idea of Mini Projects is that we get something done; anything to stop that cycle and see something in our life moving forward.

What we tend to notice in people using Mini Projects is that by leaving a job after an hour (at the most) there is usually an increase in motivation and an urge to get back to it. Motivation is a major step in beating the depressed mood.

Feeling pleasure is a great way of improving our mood and so is feeling achievement. Mini Projects are a great way to feel some achievement.