Momentum is an essential component to accomplishing our goal work, but how do we find the momentum we need, when we need it? Some days it can just feel so hard to get started and other times it can be hard to stay focused for any length of time. Can you relate?

In this blog, we will take a look at some tips and best practices for finding and keeping your momentum in order to maximize the success of your goals work.

Let’s start with a few tips for finding momentum:

• Schedule the time (literally put it on your calendar… if it is important to you, get it on your calendar to ensure time is set aside to work on it)
• Set a timer to help you get started (commit to a certain amount of time, even if it is just 15 mins…you may find that when the timer goes off you are in the groove and you just keep working away!)
• Find an accountability partner (someone who won’t let you make excuses or skip your dedicated time for your goal work)
• Decide on a reward for yourself once you start (dangle that carrot in front of yourself…or nap, or piece of dark chocolate, or the next episode of your latest Netflix binge, or whatever motivates you)
• Withhold something from yourself until you start (again, similar to the reward tip above, what will make you want to get started so you can have that thing?)

If none of those ideas resonate with you, spend a little time reflecting on what motivates you – chances are somewhere in that reflection is a way for you to spark momentum for yourself. One decision to take a tiny action can give you the momentum you need to make great strides towards your goals.

Ok, so let’s say we found our momentum. That’s great! But what can we do when we lose that momentum mid-way through?

• Losing momentum happens to all of us. Maybe it happens part way through the specific activity you are currently working on for your goal or after about a month of working toward that goal. Or maybe it happens mid-way through the year or when you hit some kind of road block or life circumstance. Regardless of when it happens, we have all been there. And there are things we can do to get refocused and keep that momentum going…

• If you feel yourself losing momentum while working on an aspect of your goal, consider a short break…take a walk, make sure you are hydrated and well nourished, clear your head and then come back to your goal work

• If you feel yourself losing momentum at some point in the year, give yourself the time to reflect on your goal to make sure it is still something you definitely want to be working toward (it is okay to change your goals if they no longer align with you and your life)
• If you are losing momentum due some life circumstances that have come up unexpectedly, thus diverting your attention and energies, be gentle with yourself. Sometimes life circumstances can temporarily derail us and that is ok. The important piece is to make sure you keep your goals in sight so when time does allow you can spend time on them, even if it is just for a few minutes. Don’t give up on them, but allow yourself grace and flexibility if life circumstances temporarily call for it. And then when that life circumstance passes or lightens up, take a moment to reassess your goals and where you are and create an updated plan to keep moving along with them.
• Accountability partners can be great help here as well. They can help encourage and motivate you to keep going when you feel your momentum slipping. They can also ask really good questions to get you to think about your goals and f you need to do a reassessment of any kind.

The bottom line is this – take each day as it comes, do your best with your goals each day, and then tomorrow get excited that it is a new day in which you can do as good as or better than the day before. Love yourself for all the hard work you do put in and give yourself grace when you don’t put the work in (regardless of the reason). And just keep at it. Reflect, reassess and adjust, and just keep moving forward one small step at a time.

And now I leave you with a call to action - What’s one thing you can do today to gain or maintain momentum in regard to your goals? Give it some thought and then go ahead and make it happen. Namaste.