Managing Momentum

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<a href="https://www.mbacentral.org/managing-momentum/"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.mbacentral.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ManagingMomentum.png" alt="Managing Momentum" width="500" border="0" /></a><br />Source: <a href="https://www.mbacentral.org/">MBA Central</a><br />

Life is easier when our goals are completed─88% of workers spend at least 1 hour per day procrastinating on a task

The Importance of Momentum

Why We Put Things Off
- Initially, there seemed to be a benefit to procrastination: lower levels of stress and more time for enjoyable activities
- BUT ultimately procrastinators felt more stress, illness, and lower quality of work

Positive momentum is progress strengthened by continued, day-to-day action

Avoid Analysis Paralysis
- It may feel harder when we are doing things we have never done before
- BUT the longer it takes to make a decision, the harder it is to start
Be Proactive
- Often problems feel harder to overcome than they actually are
- Unaddressed setbacks may pile up and become ever more intimidating, resulting in even bigger issues
Live in the Present
- The future is created by the steps you take now
- Failing to reach goals in the moment will make it harder to accomplish further goals later
In Life and Business, Good Things Can Come From Negatives
- “Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors… Anti-fragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better” – Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder by Nassem Nicholas Taleb

BUT not all adversity can be easily tackled―What if something halts you and your progress?

The Path to Re-Emerging After A Setback

Acknowledge What Went Wrong
- Take control of a difficult situation by recognizing the reality of your situation
- Look as to how it happened and how you can be proactive in moving forward
Reset Your Outlook
- Choose to look at setbacks as a lesson and use as motivation
- If harnessed right, stress can be taken as a positive force

Alan Weiss’ “One Percent Solution”: Improve your business (or yourself) by 1% each day ㅡ In 70 days you’ll be 2X as good as you are now

Choose to Keep Going
- Pick one thing you want to get better at, and do it every day
- Small, incremental improvements over time result in bigger accomplishments

“One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals” — Michael Korda

Moving Forward

Create Goals
- Start with a dream about your objectives for your ideal timeframe and beyond
- Before a goal can become a plan, you need an idea or vision
- Start the right habits to hit the ground running come January (or the beginning of any new endeavor)

To make sure that your goal is motivating, write down why it’s valuable and important to you

Make Lists
- One study showed that making a plan to get tasks done can reduce the anxiety of having uncompleted to-do’s
- A list can help give structure to getting things done ― and prioritized
- They also serve as tangible reminders of all that you have accomplished
Take Measurable Action
- Known progress can be made if you have clear and specific objectives
- Include precise amounts, dates, etc to measure your degree of success
- Without a way to measure your success you may feel stuck and like no achievement has been made ─and possibly derailing any momentum
Start With One Step
- Begin with the easiest task that needs to be done, and start there
- With one victory down, the next goal may be simpler to approach and accomplish
- Eventually your momentum will build to where going forward is easier than not
Tech To Help Yourself
- Fabulous App
  - Guides users’ small lifestyle changes to create habits in 30 days
- Procraster
  - Gives advice on how to overcome procrastination based on your specific mindset
- Trello
  - Helps users track projects and tasks with easy-to-use lists