Identify the Next Small Step

A structured problem-solving process often looks something like:

1. Define the problem
2. Identify the goal
3. Brainstorm solutions
4. Evaluate the options
5. Choose a solution
6. Turn the solution into an action plan
7. Carry it out
8. Review what happened

Identifying the Next Small Step happens after you have enough direction to begin acting.

In formal DBT Problem Solving, after choosing a solution, the next task is to identify the steps needed to carry it out.

This page focuses on one practical piece of that process:

identifying the action that comes next.

It is best understood as part of DBT Problem Solving rather than a separate standalone DBT skill.

A helpful test is:

“Could someone watch me do this step?”

Vague:

“Figure out my insurance.”

Concrete:

“Find the customer-service number on my insurance card.”

Then perhaps:

“Write down the question I need to ask.”

Helpful steps often begin with words like:

• Call
• Email
• Write
• Open
• Find
• Ask
• Read
• Schedule
• Gather
• Submit

These describe something that can actually happen.

Sometimes thinking is genuinely the next task.

If so, make the thinking concrete.

Instead of:

“Think about the decision.”

try:

“Write down the two questions I still need answered.”

Suppose your plan is:

1. Find the application
2. Gather documents
3. Complete the form
4. Review it
5. Submit it

If you already found the application, that is not your next step.

Your next step is:

“Gather the documents.”

Look for the first necessary step that remains unfinished.

When returning to a problem after a break, briefly ask:

“Where did I actually leave off?”

Continue from there rather than recreating the whole plan.

You may want to:

“Submit the application.”

But if the application requires a document you do not have, submission is not actually the next step.

The next step may be:

“Request the missing document.”

If the action you chose cannot yet be completed, ask:

“What needs to happen first?”

Keep working backward until you reach something you can actually do.

Examples:

• Find out the deadline
• Ask whether something is covered
• Find out what documents are required
• Ask whether an appointment is available
• Clarify what someone is asking you to do

In those situations, gathering information is not avoiding action.

It is part of the action plan.

Avoid:

“Research the issue.”

Try:

“Find out whether the program accepts applications after Friday.”

Know what question you are trying to answer.

Gathering information can become a way to postpone action.

Ask:

“Do I now know enough to take the next step?”

If yes, move forward.

The next step might be:

• Ask someone a question
• Request practical help
• Ask for feedback
• Contact a professional
• Ask someone to accompany you

A problem-solving plan does not have to mean doing everything alone.

Instead of:

“Ask someone for help,”

try:

“Text Jordan and ask whether they can review my résumé tonight.”

Specificity makes the next action easier to recognize.

Suppose your next step is:

“Call the insurance company.”

If you still cannot begin, ask what is making it difficult.

You may need to:

1. Find the phone number
2. Write down the question
3. Get your member information
4. Then make the call

A legitimate next step might be:

• Open the document
• Gather materials
• Find the address
• Put the phone number in your contacts
• Write down what you want to say

Preparation counts when it actually makes the chosen solution easier to carry out.

Breaking an action down is useful until you reach something you can do.

Once you have a safe, clear, manageable action, continued subdivision may become another way to avoid starting.

Suppose you could:

• Update your résumé
• Apply for a job
• Ask someone for a reference

If the application cannot be submitted without an updated résumé, updating the résumé may be the logical next step.

Ask:

“Is there one action that unlocks several others?”

If so, that may deserve priority.

Suppose several actions could move the plan forward, but one has a deadline tomorrow.

That timing matters.

Ask:

“Which action becomes impossible or creates a larger problem if I delay it?”

Something demanding your attention is not automatically the most important next step.

Consider both:

• What is time-sensitive?
• What actually moves the goal forward?

Suppose the logical next step is:

“Draft the report.”

On a difficult day, you may realistically be able to:

“Draft the opening paragraph.”

Adjust the size without losing the direction.

The appropriate step may be different depending on:

• Energy
• Time
• Stress
• Physical limitations
• Other responsibilities

Small enough to do today does not mean small forever.

You may know:

“The next step is making the call.”

But you still do not do it.

In that case, the problem may no longer be identifying the next step.

The barrier might be:

• Anxiety
• Shame
• Fear of conflict
• Perfectionism
• Low motivation

If anxiety is the barrier, consider:

• Coping Ahead
• Breathing
• Grounding
• Check the Facts

If motivation is the barrier, consider:

• Five-Minute Rule
• Behavioral Activation
• Rewarding Progress

If the step itself is still too large, use Break Tasks Into Smaller Steps.

Suppose you identify:

“Call the doctor's office.”

But the office is closed.

Add:

“Tomorrow at 9:00 AM.”

Scheduling gives the step a place to happen.

A stronger action plan might be:

“Tomorrow at 9:00 AM, I will call from home using the number saved in my phone.”

Additional detail is useful when it removes uncertainty.

Do not add detail simply for its own sake.

Not:

“Get them to agree.”

Instead:

“Explain my request clearly.”

Not:

“Get the job.”

Instead:

“Submit the application.”

You can act toward an outcome without controlling the outcome itself.

Your overall plan may contain:

1. Call the office
2. Get the form
3. Complete the form
4. Gather documentation
5. Submit everything

You do not need to mentally perform all five steps at once.

If:

“Call the office”

is next, let that be the current task.

Once the step is complete, ask:

“What is next now?”

The answer may be the next planned step, or the situation may have changed.

Suppose your step was:

“Ask whether the deadline can be extended.”

You learn that it can.

Your next step may now be different.

Or you learn that it cannot.

That also changes what happens next.

After each meaningful action, ask:

• What happened?
• Did this work as expected?
• Is the original solution still appropriate?
• What is the next step now?

Update the plan based on new information.

Complex projects, deadlines, or situations with dependencies may require several planned steps.

In those cases, write the sequence down.

If the rest of the plan depends on what happens next, you may not need to predict everything.

Example:

“First I'll call and find out whether they accept my insurance. Then I'll know what to do next.”

Planning farther ahead would add work without adding useful information.

Sometimes there is no single objectively correct next action.

If several options:

• Move the chosen solution forward
• Are safe
• Are reasonably efficient

choose one.

Do not turn identifying the next step into another major decision.

You often learn more after taking action.

A reasonable step now may reveal the better next step afterward.

Chosen solution: Schedule an appointment.

Possible sequence:

1. Find the office phone number
2. Check your calendar
3. Call the office
4. Write down the appointment

If you do not yet have the phone number, that may be the next small step.

Chosen solution: Talk directly with the person.

Next step might be:

“Write down the one issue I want to discuss.”

Then:

“Ask when they have time to talk.”

Chosen solution: Catch up by completing the highest-priority section first.

Next step:

“Open the project instructions and identify which section is due first.”

Chosen solution: Ask someone for support.

Too broad:

“Reach out.”

Next step:

“Text Sam: ‘Do you have time to talk tonight?’”

Chosen solution: Clean the apartment one area at a time.

Next step:

“Put all visible trash in one bag.”

Chosen solution: Tell the person you cannot continue taking on the extra responsibility.

Next step:

“Write one clear sentence describing what I can and cannot do.”

Assertive Communication or DEAR MAN may help with the conversation itself.

Write:

“The solution I chose is ______.”

Then:

“The next thing I need to do to carry it out is ______.”

Ask:

“What is the first physical action involved in doing this?”

Examples:

• Open the email
• Pick up the phone
• Find the document
• Open the calendar
• Write the first sentence

Write the action you think comes next.

Ask:

“Can I do this now?”

If no:

“What has to happen first?”

Repeat until you reach an actionable step.

Write only:

Current problem: ______

Chosen solution: ______

Next action: ______

Keep the rest of the plan elsewhere.

Focus only on the current action.

Look at your next step and ask:

“Could someone tell when I have completed this?”

If not, rewrite it more concretely.

Once the step is clear, ask:

“Can I reasonably do this now?”

If yes:

begin.

If no:

decide when it will happen.

When the step is complete, ask:

1. What happened?
2. Did this move the solution forward?
3. Did I learn something new?
4. What is the next step now?

If you stop working before the plan is complete, write:

“When I return, the next thing to do is ______.”

This reduces the need to reconstruct the plan next time.

Ask:

“What would need to happen before the solution could be completed?”

Then identify the first unfinished requirement.

Look for:

• Dependencies
• Deadlines
• Steps that unlock other steps

If order does not matter, choose one reasonable starting point.

Make it smaller.

Instead of:

“Complete the paperwork,”

try:

“Find the paperwork.”

Then reassess.

Ask:

“Do I already know one safe and useful action I can take?”

If yes, stop expanding the plan and take that action.

Ask:

“Does this action genuinely move the chosen solution forward?”

If not, it may be productive-looking avoidance.

Return to the actual plan.

The problem may have shifted from planning to an emotional or motivational barrier.

Ask:

“What is stopping me from doing a step that I already understand?”

Then choose a skill for that barrier.

Ask:

“Is there anything useful that is still mine to do?”

Maybe:

• Send a follow-up
• Prepare for the response
• Set a date to check again
• Work on another part meanwhile

If nothing useful remains, waiting may genuinely be the current situation.

Do not automatically repeat it.

Ask:

• What happened?
• Did I learn something new?
• Does the plan need modification?
• Should I try another solution?

Return to Problem Solving when needed.

When a situation involves immediate danger, a medical emergency, or another urgent safety issue, the next step may simply be:

get appropriate immediate help.

Do not spend unnecessary time creating an elaborate action plan when urgent action is required.

One Small Step is useful when the whole situation feels overwhelming and you need to narrow attention to one manageable action.

It asks:

“What is one useful thing I can do now?”

You may not yet have a complete action plan.

Here, you have already chosen a solution or direction.

The question is:

“Given the solution I chose, what action comes next?”

The difference is subtle but useful:

One Small Step helps create movement.

Identify the Next Small Step translates a chosen solution into implementation.

Break Tasks Into Smaller Steps asks:

“What are the manageable pieces of this larger task?”

You may create an entire checklist.

Once the list exists, this skill asks:

“Which step comes next?”

You can use both:

break it down → identify next step → act → reassess.

Example:

“Call the insurance company.”

Example:

“Call tomorrow at 9:30 AM.”

When the step cannot happen immediately, these skills work well together.

Problem Solving may involve:

• Defining the problem
• Brainstorming
• Evaluating solutions
• Selecting what to try

Once you decide:

“This is what I'm going to try,”

this skill asks:

“What do I actually do first?”

Example:

“Tomorrow I will call and ask about the bill.”

You might anticipate:

“I will probably feel anxious and want to hang up.”

Coping Ahead helps you plan how to respond to that barrier.

Use:

Next Step → Coping Ahead → Action

when emotional barriers are predictable.