Keep That Momentum!

Whether it’s a new year, a refocus at a changing season, or for Toastmasters, a new program year, we’ve all experienced that fresh-start effect: a new beginning, a blank slate, a time to set goals. You feel excited, you believe in the journey ahead, and you have a boost of confidence ... until a few weeks later. While that initial surge is wonderful, the truth is that this empowered and motivated feeling doesn’t last.

How can you keep that momentum? How can you ensure that you don’t run out of steam a few weeks after getting started and keep your goals and plans in mind as you progress through the year?

As a high-performance coach and trainer, I’ve worked with corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and managers, and observed that they start with great enthusiasm and ambition, but often their motivation falls away as the weeks and months go by.

Luckily, there is a lot of research on the psychology of momentum, as well as tips and strategies to help you stay on track and build sustainable performance over time.

The Psychology of Momentum

In physics, the definition of momentum is the mass of an object times its velocity. Translated into psychological terms, the more energy and motivation (velocity) you feel and the more actions you take (mass), the greater momentum you will have.

Momentum differs from motivation. The initial push to do something is motivation, it is the why behind taking action; whereas momentum is the how: the actions you take that build up over time.

You gain momentum by seeing progress in your projects. The more progress you make, the greater momentum you will generate. However, sometimes it takes a while to see progress, and this is the time when people falter, slow down, or abandon their goals.

Author and strategic planner Dan Sullivan describes this time of discouragement as “the gap.” As he explains in his book The Gap and the Gain, when you focus on the gap—thinking about how much further you still need to go—you become discouraged.

However, when you focus on the gain—noticing how far you’ve come—you create momentum. Keeping this in mind throughout your journey is key, because the second you pivot and focus on the gap, you lose motivation and momentum.

Find Your Support System

One of the greatest assets for momentum is leverage, and to get leverage, you need to find people who will help you along your journey. That might be a mentor or coach, an accountability partner, a coworker, or anyone in your peer group.

Equally, you lean on your own strengths and skills as leverage for the different projects you are working on. If you are focusing on something you’re good at and enjoy, and if you often find yourself working in a state of flow (and within your Zone of Genius), you are more likely to generate momentum.

Strategies for Staying on Track

From a psychological perspective, the ability to stay focused on any long-term project comes down to having a clear why (i.e., understanding your motivation), taking action, focusing on the gain, and finding leverage. Let’s break down what this looks like in terms of tangible strategies:

• Set quarterly goals and regular milestones.

  “One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals,” says author and editor Michael Korda. Setting goals that are both ambitious and realistic is what ignites the initial fire. To keep them front of mind, you can set what productivity expert Ali Abdaal calls “quarterly quests”—goals you set for each quarter of the year.

  Whether you set quarterly quests or yearly goals, break them down into monthly objectives—the clearer and more tangible the objectives are, the easier they will be to reach.

  “One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.”

  —Michael Korda
• Block off your calendar and review regularly.

  Simply setting goals isn’t enough, however, because they often get forgotten as time goes by. You need to have a way to remind yourself of them. You might start strong and have the best intentions, but within six months, you are on autopilot, doing the minimum amount of work.

  To hold yourself accountable, start by marking down the deadline for finishing your goal, then work backward to schedule time on a regular basis to work on the goals and tasks. The simplest method is to set a reminder on your phone or in your calendar app. And look for tools that can help. One of my favorites is time blocking. This involves thinking of your day in terms of chunks of time rather than breaking it down into minutes of tasks. By blocking off a chunk of time (for instance, three hours twice a week to focus on a long-term project), you prioritize the project and give yourself time to move it forward.

  If you’re the leader of a team, schedule a set time each month for people to report on their progress and any setbacks.

  You can even create rituals in your Toastmasters meeting by having members take a few minutes to share how they are progressing. If you’re a club officer, make sure you’re regularly referring to your Club Success Plan and staying on track.

  When groups have a regular check-in time, not only are they more accountable toward their progress but they also have the opportunity to share setbacks, both of which contribute to a more dynamic environment in your group.

• Find strategies to cope with low momentum.

  Most of us start a project strongly motivated to see it through. But as time goes on, that motivation often dwindles, and we end up losing our momentum. Here are a few core tactics if you feel that you are swaying off the path:

  • Break the cycle. If you find yourself in a downward spiral with low motivation and action, try changing things up: Seek inspiration from other people you look up to whom you haven’t reached out to before, attend a new training or class, read a great book, or listen to a podcast on motivation.
  • Hold yourself accountable. Find an accountability partner, either someone on your team or a mentor or coworker, who can help you get back on track.
  • Anticipate. Know that there will be times when you might feel discouraged and bored. And that’s okay. As James Clear points out in his book Atomic Habits, boredom is a fundamental aspect of the high performer journey. In fact, you should expect it. Just don’t let those phases of boredom stop you; instead, overcome your resistance by changing things up or holding yourself accountable in some ways.

  Just remember, the more often you give up, the harder it will be to achieve your goals.

Building Sustainable Performance

Consistent momentum comes from building a sustainable performance routine that doesn’t cause you to burn out. But sometimes you get in a slump. When that happens, find some practices to renew your focus and keep that energy strong.

• Examine your vision and why.

  If your motivation hits rock bottom, it can be because the vision wasn’t clear, or your why wasn’t strong enough. Set yourself up at the start by making sure you have a strong why, a solid understanding of your goal, and a clear direction for achieving it.

• Increase your check-in cadence.

  The more often you measure and check in with yourself and the group, the more likely you are to stay on track. Checking in is the simplest way to ensure that you remember your goals over time, and that you and the team stay aligned with your goals. It also provides you an opportunity to revisit and redefine your goals as you progress.

• Prioritize self-care.

  When you experience those inevitable phases of lower motivation, take a step back to reset and renew your energy. See if you can delegate some tasks for a while. Consider if you need to take time to check that your goals are aligned with your vision and core values.

  Take a tip from elite athletes who know that prioritizing rest and rejuvenation is as important as training to ensure high performance. Make sure you are periodically slowing down and taking a break from the pressures and constant tasks.

• Focus on process not goals.

  If you are goal-oriented, you might struggle to focus on the journey. Yet, that’s where the magic lies. Author Clear points out that when you think of your end-goals as a means of guiding you, not as the final result, you’ll often find that you fall in love with the systems and the process.

  When you allow yourself to enjoy the process, you aren’t just focusing on the end results, you’re opening yourself up to making new discoveries, which helps ensure your motivation stays high.

  Momentum comes down to three core ingredients: establishing a powerful vision and a clear why, having regular check-ins, and taking action.

• Celebrate wins and learnings.

  A powerful way to ensure that you are enjoying the process is to celebrate wins and learnings. When you do your weekly check-ins with an accountability partner or your team, why not take a few minutes to acknowledge the accomplishments of the past week? If you’re doing a self-check-in, write down your progress so you can see the strides that you’ve made.

  In a team meeting, invite each person to reflect and share one or two wins. This gives a great dopamine hit and helps to feel excited about the journey and process.

• Notice your pattern of success.

  Think back on your past experiences. When did you have great momentum and progress? What were some of the tools and strategies that supported you? In contrast, when did you totally lose both motivation and momentum? What were you doing differently then?

  We learn most through experimenting and noticing our own patterns. Maybe you’re somebody who loves to track streaks (a stride of consistent days/weeks maintaining a habit), or who works best with an accountability partner. Perhaps you get a fresh dose of inspiration through reading or attending a training course. Or maybe, you feel most motivated after a phase of rest and reset. Whatever works for you: Learn, and repeat!

Momentum comes down to three core ingredients: establishing a powerful vision and a clear why, having regular check-ins, and taking action. Combine these ingredients and you have the perfect recipe for reaching your goals.

If you feel yourself going off track, re-examine your vision and why, re-establish regular check-ins, and find a strategy to get you re-motivated.

With that fresh dose of clarity, you can see what is causing a block in your momentum, and you can break out of your low cycle, get back on track, and enjoy the journey toward reaching your goals.

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