Just after my birthday this Spring, I started walking again each morning. My most successful streaks start with little planning and no fanfare. My alarm goes off, and I go walk for an hour. I kept up with that habit, day after day, all the way until our summer vacation in July. I took the week off, and I’ve struggled to get back on track.

Momentum is hugely important because it defeats resistance. Quietly humming in the background, momentum propels us to keep doing something because it’s easier to keep going than it is to stop and start over later. I didn’t have the excuse that I could just skip a day because it wouldn’t matter. I walked yesterday, so why not walk today? There were many mornings that I slept in during that Spring walking streak, but at the end of the day, I’d always lace up and head out. I’d walk in those evenings because walking is just something that I did.

I experience the same resistance when I fall out of a prayer routine. Why start small when I can just start tomorrow? Why take 10 minutes at the end of the day when I can really do a good job tomorrow morning? I need to start now because it’s the best time to start.

I don’t give momentum a lot of credit, but that’s because it’s the silent partner of success. By taking the excuses off the table, it’s easier to just do what I had planned than it is to rationalize why I shouldn’t.

Tags: Productivity