Regaining Lost Momentum

Focus Club: Group Coaching Call

July 2018

Momentum Defined

Momentum is the driving force gained by the development of a process or course of events.

When you have momentum, you’ve got a driving force — something that keeps things moving forward.

But you have to actively manage a course of events in order to create momentum. Momentum doesn’t just happen on its own.

And then — unless it exists in a vacuum — momentum will encounter resistance. And thus, over time, it will slow and stop. Which means you have to continually apply energy in order to maintain that momentum.

But the good news is that once you’ve done the hard work of getting that initial driving force built up, it requires significantly less energy in order to maintain the momentum you’ve developed.

Two Types of Momentum Building

Starting from Nothing
Re-Starting from Something

This second one is hard because we already had momentum, and now we’re trying to get back into it. That fresh motivation of kicking off something brand new isn’t often there when we are trying to re-build an old habit.

Losing momentum isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes it’s just how life happens. But the familiarity of the old habit combined with the uphill battle to rebuild momentum can be a recipe for procrastination.

How to Regain Lost Momentum

Small and Consistent

The number one thing to keep in mind with building momentum is to think about a snowball: Small and consistent.

The reason you need small is because that’s what allows you to be consistent. And the reason you need consistent is because that’s how you build momentum.

**Lower Your Bar of Success
Try this: set your bar of success a few notches lower.

Don’t hold yourself to a standard that is so high you will only feel the pangs of shame at not succeeding right away. Instead, hold your output to a lower standard than normal. Especially for your first few days back.

Just punch the card that says you were here. Just show up. Building or re-building a habit is difficult and slow-going work. Don’t make it harder on yourself than it has to be. You’ll return again tomorrow. And before you know it your output will be right back to where it was.

Define success and track your progress

As you begin to develop a new habit or re-build an old one, you’ll want to define what success looks like each day. Define a simple and obvious cue; clearly define the reward.

Challenges and Comments From Club Members

When asking you guys to vote on this month’s coaching call topic, we also asked for your feedback related to the topic you were most interested.

For regaining lost momentum, here are some of the challenges you shared:

It’s difficult to get started; I’m always procrastinating and never seem to even gain any momentum.

This is, by far and away, the most common challenge.

Here’s the trick to getting started:

Have a very small definition of success: something simple, not complicated, and not time consuming.
Have a cue: when will you do the activity?
Have a defined reward: what will you get in return when you complete the activity?

It’s a challenge to find time and prioritize; I don’t know what to focus on.

Something that helps with this is to identify the task and the time ahead of time. The day before if possible. What will you do, when will you do it?

I take on too many things at once and get worn out and lose focus.

Try to focus on just one thing at a time. Put all other distractions in another room if need be.

If you have too much going on in life in general, then you may need to say no to a handful of current responsibilities. Or begin doing “themed days” so that on any given day you have a clearly-defined task.

It’s a challenge to control my to-do list, rather than let it control me.
Take some time in the morning to list out your single most important tasks for the day. What are the few things you’re going to do. Then, assign those tasks to a time.

Check out All the Things.

My challenge is trying to find where I should start back up after having faltered in self-improvement. Do I start all over with the basics in my efforts, or do I begin right where I left off?

That’s up to you. I usually try to begin where I left off minus a few steps. So not a complete re-start, but also not exactly where I left off.

< h4>Nice work, !