Momentum Builders

There I was, making terrific headway with my exercise program, taming the problems in my manuscript, and generally keeping up with life. But, as you know, life happens and instead of keeping up, I jogged behind it, gasping for air.

I might have lost momentum, but nothing came to a halt. Why? Small steps. 

The other day I took my dog for a fifteen minute walk around the neighborhood. Not as intense as my previous workouts, but it kept my body moving. 

My manuscript? I threw out my normal daily goals and worked on it for an hour when possible. All those here-and-there's added up. I've gotten through another round of revisions. 

What about the tasks I dread? Like balancing my checkbook, paying bills, planning a week's worth of meals, and the daunting pile of laundry--I forced myself to Just Do It (Nike inspires me). I realize the athletic clothing giant didn't intend to kick my buns into basic house management gear, but hey, the list above felt like a marathon!

The last month has been way out-of-whack for me, but by doing small momentum builders, I'm on track to catch up soon. Hooray!

How do you stay on track when life laughs at you?

I won't be moderating comments today, but please leave one!  

Have a fabulous Monday!

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Why Momentum is Vital to Success

Over the holidays, I lost my momentum. I had to force myself to open my manuscript. It took me an hour to revise one page. Exercising was the same way--a painful chore. Sure, for ten days I enjoyed all that delicious food and fun times with the family, but getting back into a routine stunk.

It's easy to overlook the power of momentum. I exercise 3-4 times a week. I write or revise every weekday. If I cut back to exercising once a week, I lose that hard earned muscle. If I skip writing or revising for more than two days, it takes twice as long for my brain to make sense of the work.

In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell analyzes a study of elementary school children's test scores in June and the following September. While some children, mainly the upper income kids, improve their scores over the summer, other children's scores, more of the lower income kids, actually decline. His hypothesis is that the children who improve over the summer likely have access to more learning opportunities. They aren't losing momentum. Who do you think will have an easier time adjusting to the more difficult subjects in September--the kids who expanded their learning or the kids who regressed?

Momentum is vital to success. I could say my goal isn't competitive, but I'd be deluding myself. There are thousands, possibly millions, of other people just like me who want to see their books in an actual store. With only so many publishing slots available, not everyone's publishing dreams will come true. I believe the people who are disciplined, who constantly study and analyze what could make their writing better, they are the ones who will be published. They don't write one day a week and watch Dr. Phil the other four days. They build momentum by writing on a regular basis.

Everything worthwhile involves hard work and discipline, but a big part of the battle is getting started and making it a habit. Momentum will take over and make our task easier. It's one of the keys to meeting our goals.

Do you dread resuming a task if you've taken time off from it? Is momentum key to reaching your goals?


Join me on Wednesday when we talk about the glam factor.

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