Measuring Progress: More Than Just Numbers

As a baker, I’ve always found comfort in the tangible aspects of my work. You can see the dough rise, feel the texture change under your hands, and witness the transformation from raw ingredients to a beautifully baked creation. In baking, progress is clear. You start with nothing, follow a process, and end with something delightful to share.

But when it comes to life or business, progress isn’t always so easy to measure. There are no instant signs of success, no golden crust to tell you you’re on the right path. In fact, sometimes it feels like you’re stuck, like nothing is moving forward. Especially after this time I’ve spent disconnected from my blog and social media, I started questioning:  How do you measure progress when it’s not obvious?

I’ve realized that progress isn’t just about hitting specific milestones or achieving grand goals. It’s in the small, often invisible moments — the ones where growth happens quietly, beneath the surface. Much like letting dough rest, where nothing seems to be happening but essential changes are taking place.

In business, and even in personal growth, it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers: how many followers, how many sales, how many likes. But the truth is, numbers don’t always tell the full story. Sometimes, the most important progress is the shift in mindset, the patience you’ve built, or the resilience you’ve gained along the way.

When I reflect on my journey with baking and running a business, I’ve learned to appreciate the smaller signs of progress. It could be the day you come up with a new recipe that gets you excited, a conversation with a customer that sparks a new idea, or even the quiet moments when you’re able to step back and trust that the process will unfold in its own time. Much like in baking, where every step, every rest, every small adjustment leads to the final product, the same goes for life and business.

So, how do you measure progress? Maybe it’s not about tracking every single step but about trusting that each one, no matter how small, is moving you forward. Sometimes, the most profound growth happens in the quiet moments, in the periods where it feels like nothing is happening. Progress isn’t always loud or obvious—it’s often subtle, slow. Just like in baking, where you need time to let things rise, I’ve come to trust that in business and in life, we need those moments of rest, reflection, and quiet growth.