Week Notes: Vol. 3 – № 1

Momentum takes work

It's harder to keep going than it is to start.

Momentum is a lot of work.

Getting started can take as little as a baby step, maybe even just a little motivation.

Momentum, meanwhile, needs constant attention, a clear path, and even a little grease from time to time. Maybe that’s why so many things get started but la abandoned later.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when starting something is underestimating momentum. After doing something once, they assume they'll always have the same conditions: available time, cooperation, inspiration — even enthusiasm.

Chances are your favorite content creators aren't producing and publishing brand new videos, posts, or podcasts every week.

They aren't operating like SNL, grinding morning, noon, and night to create 1 thing at a time. They're more like a game show.

Jeopardy, for instance, tapes 5 episodes a day, two days a week. Shark Tank films more than 100 pitches and roughly one-third of them go unused.

That's a lot of content to mine and release slowly to keep things fresh.

About 75 percent of my blog posts were written ahead of time. I have about 50 starter ideas I can noodle on whenever I feel stuck.

Instead of scrolling Instagram when I'm bored, I'll fire up my notes app and scroll through my list. Sometimes when something comes to mind, I write a sentence or two under one of the concepts.

Later, it's a springboard to get me going again.

I did it because I knew there would be busy weekends, holidays, and interruptions. I did this to be kind to my future self.

I did it because I've been there before, staring at a blank Word doc with a half-baked idea and the pressure to publish mounting as the last 2 hours tick down to my arbitrary, self-imposed deadline.

In those moments, I feel defeated. I try again the next day. Maybe I write something decent and push it out into the world.

But I broke the rhythm. Momentum slows, and the reality of rushing to yet another deadline eats away at any remaining motivation.

Sure, a delay or skip in publishing might not matter in the grand scheme of things.

But it's an easy thing to avoid with a little planning.

Momentum is a sign of discipline.