Yeah, to me, that's all programming is. Taking a task, breaking it down into tiny steps, and writing those steps down in a language a compiler/interpreter can understand.
The problem is trying to break down MASSIVE problems. Back when I was frequently dealing with newbie programmers, it was common to find ones that wanted to make an MMORPG while they could barely grok for-loops. They hadn't even completely understood what programming is, yet wanted to take on making a massive project that usually takes multiple teams.
How would you begin to understand programming (or anything for that matter) without first starting with a massive undertaking and breaking it down into smaller chunks that can be discovered? Give someone a for-loop in isolation and it means nothing. They will never really understand it because it doesn't relate to anything. Given something massive they will have to break it down, and in that it will dawn on them "Huh, I need to do this same thing over and over again. I wonder how I might do that?" at which point they will discover loops, and then it will make perfect sense.
The problem is trying to break down MASSIVE problems. Back when I was frequently dealing with newbie programmers, it was common to find ones that wanted to make an MMORPG while they could barely grok for-loops. They hadn't even completely understood what programming is, yet wanted to take on making a massive project that usually takes multiple teams.