Borrowed momentum
The hardest part of anything is always the start 🫠
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I’ve taken a pretty hard look at my routine and processes this year.
Nearly everything has been systemised and automated, to enable me to juggle working with many different types of projects: from client delivery to business advisory, and 1:1 work to building a start up.
I’ve tried it all. I’ve done the PARA set up in Notion, the Eisenhower prioritisation matrix, the weekly wrap up, and clear out of quick captures and tasks. I’m sure you’ve done a lot of this too. It is well trodden productivity ground, and it works - as long as you stick to it.
But does all that structure actually make it easier to start?
Sometime the problem isn’t process, it’s the inertia ahead of the process. It’s the procrastination, mental resistance, that what-do-I-do-next feeling.
So I’ve flipped this on its head recently and been trying a different approach, inspired by some of the most creative people out there.
The Physics of Momentum
“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working” - Picasso
The problem isn’t laziness or lack of willpower. It’s starting. And what you need is a bit of borrowed momentum.
Many of the most creative people build momentum into starting their work:
Francis Ford Coppola used a tape recorder to capture ideas in flow
Zadie Smith will do research reading and then “start at page one and just keep going”1
Julia Cameron is famous for her morning pages of free writing
Pablo Picasso said you have to start for momentum to strike: “inspiration exists, but it has to find you working”
But this isn’t just about writing, or doing something creative. This works for doing anything. The key is making starting feel frictionless. And these great creators figured out that borrowing a spark sets you off.
Super practical way you can borrow momentum in everyday work:
Don’t wait for inspiration, pick up something that’s already alive.
Start a new presentation by copying an old slide that worked
Read a few lines or free-write for 2 mins before writing something new
Try physical motion - write your thoughts or to do list whilst walking
Set a 30 minute timer to just start and see where you get to
To ideate, talk out loud into a voicenote before you structure your thoughts
Read through your last client update or proposal before starting a new one
Draft your next idea as a reply to your own previous message
Paste an old intro paragraph to kick start a new document
Start you ideation by tidying yesterday’s notes
The goal isn’t to finish quickly or be the most efficient. It’s to get a warm start, and trick yourself into that task that felt insurmountable.
You’re no longer starting at zero. Your mind is already working, you just need to coax it slowly to your goal. Once you’re in motion, the work becomes yours. You’re borrowing a spark to build the fire.
Musicians warm up by playing scales. Athletes mirror teammates in drills. Writers sneak up on a blank page.
And you? You’ve got this.
👋 If you’re designing your next chapter - your week, your work, or wider business - I offer 1:1 support. Connect or message me below.
PS - If you liked this kind of curation, Verse is my other love letter to great books. There’s even a subscription that sends books straight to your door.
From the archive:
