Momentum

Do you feel stuck, stagnant, or lost? All you need is a little momentum.

Momentum is the engine that drives creativity, inspiration, and productivity.

How can we gain momentum if we currently feel stuck? Easy! We start with a small, simple, easy to do action. Once we’ve done that, we can pat ourselves on the back, say “I did it!” and start working on the next small, simple, and easy to do action. Ta da! You have gained momentum.

Momentum is easy to get because all it takes is a single tiny push to start. Imagine a boulder at the top of the hill. It’s already teetering on the edge and a tiny little nudge is all that’s required to cause the boulder to begin rolling down the hill. Once it starts rolling, it just keeps picking up speed and momentum. This is how momentum works.

All it takes is a single small action to get the boulder of momentum rolling. You’ll feel accomplished when you complete that action and motivated to do more. The more you do, the more accomplished and motivated you will feel.

We lose momentum when we begin to overcomplicate each action we need to complete. If we bundle things together in our minds so that 5 simple and easy actions become 1 big and difficult action, we are resistant to starting and we lose momentum. The trick is to break what we need to accomplish down into small bite sized pieces that we can easily accomplish one bite at a time. Every time we are able to mentally check off a task, we get a boost of happiness and a sense of accomplishment. The smaller the tasks, the more we can do, and the more happiness and accomplishment we will feel.

I don’t know about you, but the feeling of joy and accomplishment that comes with getting something done motivates me to start on another small simple task.

Make sure your tasks are broken down so that they are small, simple, and straightforward. You should be able to easily understand what you are trying to accomplish with this task, and you should be able to easily identify when the task is complete. The latter is especially important. If we can’t clearly define what it means to finish the task, it will always seem incomplete, and we don’t get that little boost of happiness and accomplishment.

Ambiguous tasks are the enemy of momentum. Be clear in what you are trying to get done and the definition of done. Achieving this clarity is a little task in itself and you can celebrate the win when you accomplish it.

What’s a goal you’re currently working towards? Let’s go build some momentum for it!