How the First Law Of Thermodynamics Can Help You Stay Productive

Let’s play “choose your own adventure.” The scene:

You arrive home from a busy (but rewarding) day at work. You go into the kitchen for a beverage and see the sink is full of that morning’s dirty dishes. There’s a pile of mail to sort through. And you plan to cook dinner for your family.

Do you:

  1. Choose a delicious beverage and sit down on the back deck to relax before tackling your tasks
  2. Quench your thirst and dive into the mail pile, eliminating your tasks in order of easy to difficult before sitting down.

There’s no wrong answer here. But there is a way to use momentum to help you stay productive… and, more importantly, less stressed out by your looming tasklist.

The first law of thermodynamics goes loosely like this:

An object at rest stays at rest. An object in motion stays in motion.

It’s true of subatomic particles and larger human bodies. When you’re already in motion, like coming home from work, the easiest way to ensure you do everything you want to do is to literally not sit down. It takes less effort to keep going than it does to get started again.

But sometimes, the hardest part is getting STARTED. How can you get in motion and stay in motion to move towards our goals on a regular basis? Here are some ideas you can try to harness the natural law of momentum to help you stay productive while honouring your unique style and preferences.

Use microhabits to build routines and preserve brain power. 

That’s what a habit is: an action that doesn’t take a lot of conscious effort to do. When you stack small habits together, you create a routine that becomes second nature.

For example, take your morning routine:
Make bed. 
Brush teeth. 
Wash face. 
Get dressed. 
Eat breakfast.

Doing these things in the same order everyday helps reserve your brain for bigger tasks, while giving you the momentum of completing 5 things before you’ve even sat down at your desk!

Break down your to-do’s into smaller tasks.

For actions that can’t be turned into second nature habits, like writing a blog post, break it down into a list of smaller tasks:

  1. Open blog doc and choose topic from questions list
  2. Draft blog to answer the question
  3. Brainstorm 15 headlines
  4. Edit draft and choose a headline
  5. Use Canva template to create blog image
  6. Download blog image
  7. Open WordPress and create new WordPress post
  8. Add text
  9. Format post
  10. Add headline
  11. Add blog image
  12. Do a final proofread
  13. Schedule post publication

Breaking down a bigger task like this helps to reduce overwhelm that can prevent any capable and smart person from starting the task. And even if you do get a little paralyzed by overwhelm, you’ve still completed part of the list, and hence part of the bigger task.

This is also why it’s SO important to start documenting your processes as soon as possible. Don’t worry about getting it exactly right; as your business grows and evolves, so will your processes. For example, if you know that you’re writing a blog tomorrow, you can open your blank doc, Canva template, and WordPress post at the end of the day today.

Game-ify your progress.

Having a reward to look forward to at the end of the day injects motivation into your momentum! If you tell yourself you get to watch an episode of your favourite binge-worthy show only after posting your blog, you’re probably going to have an easier time staying in motion! Reward yourself often for your hard work and accomplishments.

Take breaks.

Not all rewards have to come at the end of the day! If you’re feeling slightly wrung out after finishing your blog draft, reward yourself with a little break before editing. Drink a glass of cold water and breathe some fresh air to keep your energy up. 

On the other hand, if you feel yourself losing momentum, take a break to move your body! Do a quickfire set of jumping jacks, push-ups, jump squats, or sit-ups to get your blood flowing, increase your mental sharpness and build momentum physically.

Create before you consume…

Instead of starting your day with checking your email or social media, try starting your day with a creative task like writing a blog post or email to your list. Being creative often takes more energy, so doing that first can give you a boost of momentum to carry you through the rest of the day’s smaller tasks.

…Or not.

If you’re the type of person who likes to build upon smaller wins, starting out with general admin tasks and working your way up to a bigger creative task might be the way to go. The key here is to experiment and learn how your own momentum works.

Celebrate your wins!

At the end of the day, write down all the things you accomplished. This will help you keep things in perspective because there’s always a lot to celebrate. This is especially helpful if you tend to be hard on yourself. You’ll also be able to build on today’s momentum tomorrow.

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