Inertia 🏃
I love the idea of momentum, rhythm, deep work and pace. Once I’m in the zone, I can sit for hours, get lost in my work and can accomplish work that I am proud of.
The trouble, though, is getting in that zone.
Not getting distracted. Focusing for long enough on the task to get into a rhythm.
Cambridge Dictionary aptly defines Inertia simply as:
Inertia - the tendency not to change what is happening
As creatures of habit, we have a tendency to find our comforts, gravitate towards them, and to unconsciously stick to them.
I can drive my car to and from work largely without effort. I have my driving habits, my preferred routes, and I can do it on auto-pilot.
Same goes for my home routine after work. I can easily come home, get cleaned up, settle into comfy home clothes, and relax while surfing the internet.
The trouble comes when I want to be productive.
I need to fight those habits and tendencies, combat the auto-pilot and redirect my momentum towards productive work.
How Do I Do That?
For me, I have to avoid routines that facilitate sedentariness.
Changing one small thing can snowball into a huge compounding mechanism for change.
The things I have to avoid are...
Sitting on the couch ❌
Lying down ❌
Getting too comfortable ❌
If I want to work, I love going to a library, going to a coffee shop or using the standing desk. Those simple changes in my routine are often enough to shift my automatic routines or habits for me to consciously begin working.
Those few moments of conscious work lead to starting.
Starting leads to a groove.
A groove leads to a flow.
And then BAM, flow state.
I know I’m skimming over a ton of things, but the point being that inertia can either work FOR you or AGAINST you in your quest for deliberate productivity.
It can become the hardest thing to muster the effort to get off the couch, stop watching television, and sit down to write.
It can also be the easiest thing to settle in nicely, start typing away, and 4 hours later, you’ve got a piece of content or work that you can be proud of and feel accomplished for.
The decisive moment though is that subtle fork in the road early on. The decision or lack of decision and subsequent autopilot habit to get cozy, sit on the couch and mindlessly watch something.
And it is still a battle. I still find myself zoning out, watching too much Youtube or Tiktok or going down the Reddit rabbit hole. But I am now more aware of those autopilot cues and signals where I need to muster the strength and will to veer away.
The good thing is that the more you do it, the easier it gets.
The more you recognize those crossroad moments, the better you can muster the willpower at the necessary times.
You begin to recognize the cues, the feelings, the sensations, the vulnerabilities, the moments of fatigue, your resilience and strength and all the extra little things that you can do.
And as you exercise these skills and muscles, you will find a deeper reservoir of strength and willpower to continue.
After all, you’ve got the momentum in your favour.