Shownotes
Have you ever felt ready to take action on a new project or goal, but there’s initial work involved before you can get started? It’s that in-between phase when you might need to do research, make decisions, and get setup first. It’s easy to get stuck in this phase, but not always for the reasons you think. We’ll discuss how to avoid getting stuck and delaying action any longer, plus I’m sharing an update on my current personal experiment.
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Transcripts
Have you ever been so excited to start a project that you dive right in
Speaker:without much, if any, prep and you just hope that that doesn't
Speaker:cause issues for later? Or the opposite, where you spend all your
Speaker:time preparing but never really getting started? I have
Speaker:been in both situations many times, and one
Speaker:example I want to share is related to a hobby of mine, which is
Speaker:knitting. And in actual fact, I have. You know, I've been
Speaker:knitting for about 10 years and this is something that I love
Speaker:to do. And over the years I've gotten pretty good at it. But early
Speaker:on, I learned a really valuable lesson when it comes to
Speaker:knitting, and that is that every time you buy a
Speaker:pattern, and maybe you don't knit, but you've had other issues where you
Speaker:get patterns in advance and they want you to do some preparation before you get
Speaker:started, but you're so excited to get started that you just dive in and
Speaker:like, I just want to start knitting. I don't need to do the test swatch.
Speaker:Now, if you've never knitted, a test swatch
Speaker:is basically a way. It's a Square. It's a 4x4
Speaker:inch square that you're supposed to take your time, knit the square
Speaker:using the pattern that you're going to be knitting. And
Speaker:it should be 4x4. If it's not, it means
Speaker:you're using the wrong combination of yarn and needles. So typically you just change the
Speaker:size of needles. When I first started knitting, I never did a test swatch. I
Speaker:just grabbed the needles they told me and the yarn and I just started making
Speaker:projects. And at first, because I was starting really simple with things like
Speaker:scarves and blankets, it didn't actually matter that much. So that sort of
Speaker:taught me I don't need to do a swatch. Well, turns out when you
Speaker:make clothing, the swatch is really important because it's telling you if it's going to
Speaker:be the right shape. And if you start and just knit away and
Speaker:spend hours and yarn making the wrong shape, you're going to be
Speaker:poorly, disappointed. And there are a lot of people in the comments that will try
Speaker:a pattern and say, this is why you always do a swatch, because maybe they
Speaker:make a sweater that is three times too large or that's really wide and
Speaker:kind of fat, or. Or really short. So the point is,
Speaker:often we're excited to dive into something and we decide to cut some
Speaker:corners. Someone recommends we do something in order to set ourselves up for
Speaker:success, but we're just interested in getting started. And once
Speaker:you've learned the hard way, you typically will start to pay attention.
Speaker:Now, another example where this has happened, where I've just kind of rushed into things,
Speaker:is when I thought, I'm gonna start to learn to run. I've got running shoes.
Speaker:I know you could start doing some, you know, run a little bit, walk a
Speaker:little bit. I'll just try that. Having no idea that the way
Speaker:I was approaching it was gonna get me injured. And sure enough, I ended up
Speaker:injured. I ended up in physical therapy, and that's when I started to learn about
Speaker:more important things, like what is the way to build up
Speaker:slowly without getting injured? How do you land on your foot? These are all things
Speaker:I didn't know. Now, my professional life, I've had a lot
Speaker:of projects that just never got off the ground because I was stuck in that
Speaker:preparation phase. I plan, gather ideas, research
Speaker:all my options, and I just never felt like I was ready enough to
Speaker:get started. And so those projects just never really got off
Speaker:the ground. Now, whether you are
Speaker:familiar with any of the stuff I'm talking about or not, there are just many
Speaker:projects or pursuits where there is this initial phase
Speaker:to set yourself up in order to be ready for taking action.
Speaker:Now, in the momentum formula, I talk about this idea of
Speaker:having a method. This is your plan, or you could call it your process or
Speaker:your system, whatever you want to call it, but it's about knowing what
Speaker:to do, how to do it, and also the
Speaker:implementation. So when and where is this going to happen and what tools are you
Speaker:going to use? Sometimes it's not that complicated,
Speaker:but it still needs to be complete. Other times we do need
Speaker:more preparation. And this is especially if you're doing something
Speaker:brand new and you don't have all the answers to this.
Speaker:So you have. You don't know exactly what to do, how you're going to do
Speaker:it. Maybe you don't have all the skills and you're not sure how much time
Speaker:this is going to take. There is that initial phase, and it's
Speaker:the sort of method before the method. In other words,
Speaker:it can take a little bit of time to figure out what your method will
Speaker:be. And the way I like to think of this is like a gap. So
Speaker:I've got a little. A little depiction. If you want to
Speaker:imagine that you are standing on the edge of a cliff and you need to
Speaker:cross over to the other side of this sort of gap in
Speaker:order to start and in order to get there, you need a bridge.
Speaker:And I like to think of this initial prep step as a bridge
Speaker:that you are actually creating this little bridge across so you can
Speaker:get started. And you only have to do this really once.
Speaker:And yes, you might iterate, you might change and have those different dynamics. But
Speaker:what is this bridge? What does this look like that you're going to cross
Speaker:so that when you get to the other side, you are ready to get started.
Speaker:Now let's use a few examples. Let's say you are going
Speaker:to use a brand new project and task manager. Well,
Speaker:the bridge is that you need to download it, you need to
Speaker:probably watch a couple of tutorials and figure out how it works. And then you'll
Speaker:also need to load your initial projects and tasks.
Speaker:Then you are ready, you've crossed that bridge and you're ready to start using it.
Speaker:Over time you might learn new techniques or tricks, but there is that initial
Speaker:bridge you need. Let's use a different example. You are going to a gym
Speaker:and you want to use strength training and use the machines.
Speaker:If it's your first time, you probably need to have someone give you a tour
Speaker:to show you which what are the different machines that
Speaker:they have and how do they work, what's the proper form and get some guidance.
Speaker:But also know what weight do I have to start at? So there is that
Speaker:initial thing that you need to get across. And another example, because there are
Speaker:a number of people in my audience, people I talk to, who are starting
Speaker:YouTube channels the first time, before you can even start
Speaker:posting a video, which is kind of your starting point, you need
Speaker:to set up the channel, learn how to use YouTube Studio behind the
Speaker:scenes and then you just choose how am I going to record content? Am I
Speaker:going to use my phone? Am I going to use a camera? And then maybe
Speaker:that involves also getting that gear ready so you can
Speaker:start making videos. And that's your bridge. So there is going to be a
Speaker:bridge. The thing I want you to remember
Speaker:is that this initial bridge, it's like a little mini project.
Speaker:The goal is that this is one time and
Speaker:it's getting you ready enough to begin. It is not having everything
Speaker:perfectly figured out. That will start to happen as you take action
Speaker:and as you get started in earnest. But this is think of it
Speaker:as a one time thing where you're spending that time figuring out
Speaker:the sort of the method before the method. The second thing is that
Speaker:there should be a clear time limit on this and you can ask
Speaker:yourself how much time do you realistically need
Speaker:for this to happen and how much time do you have to actually work
Speaker:on it? Are we talking a couple of Hours,
Speaker:maybe if you are just learning how to use something new,
Speaker:you don't actually need a whole lot of time. If we think of a knitting
Speaker:example of making a swatch and figuring out if you have the
Speaker:right needles, then that depending on the
Speaker:swatch and your skills, you might only need maybe an hour or
Speaker:two to get all of that set out, depending on how many times you have
Speaker:to do the swatch. If you are though doing something bigger, like the
Speaker:YouTube example of setting up a channel and getting the gear, that could
Speaker:take a few days, a few weeks, depending on how much time you have to
Speaker:spend on it. So you need to be realistic that some time is
Speaker:involved. And yes, this can kind of squash motivation at times.
Speaker:You want to get started really quickly and, and pausing to do this step
Speaker:can feel frustrating and we just want to get started.
Speaker:But being realistic is going to help you later because maybe you will skip some
Speaker:steps, cut some corners, and you're going to pay for it later. The
Speaker:other thing I want to remind you of is that it's okay to ask for
Speaker:help, especially if this is something that is very new to you. Is there someone
Speaker:you know who knows more about this than you, who can help you? Maybe
Speaker:they can tell you how much time is it will realistically take and what
Speaker:are some things you don't know to ask yet?
Speaker:Because when we're just getting started, we might actually not know what is and
Speaker:what is not required. Now, in a case like
Speaker:my knitting example where they say, make sure you make a swatch that is always
Speaker:in the instructions and honestly, people are notorious,
Speaker:including myself, of just skipping over instructions. We
Speaker:don't watch the tutorial or we don't read the demo. We. We don't look
Speaker:at the initial details when we sign up for a new tool.
Speaker:We just kind of think, oh, no, no, I'll figure it out as I go.
Speaker:Something as simple as just pausing and reading the instructions, they're
Speaker:there for a reason and that can really help us later so that we don't
Speaker:run into these headaches once we realize, oh, I've just spent all this time
Speaker:and effort and I really should have known something sooner.
Speaker:So getting help can be really beneficial for you to get started and
Speaker:to do it on a timeline that makes sense. Now, on the other side
Speaker:of things, there are instances which I've
Speaker:experienced, maybe you've experienced, where you get stuck in this planning
Speaker:phase much longer than necessary. And you know it. You kind of know
Speaker:that you're dragging your feet or that maybe you're procrastinating and this
Speaker:is taking much longer than necessary. If that's
Speaker:happening, especially if you know what you should be doing and you're not doing it,
Speaker:that is a sign that you don't have a logical roadblock. You most likely
Speaker:have a psychological roadblock. But in this case, there might
Speaker:be two different types. One could be a psychological roadblock or
Speaker:a fear about picking the wrong method. This happens a
Speaker:lot where you are deciding to embark on a new pursuit, a new
Speaker:goal or project, and you are worried that you might go down the
Speaker:wrong path. So what if I make the wrong choice? What if the tool that
Speaker:I choose isn't the right one? And that can actually be enough to
Speaker:freeze or stop us, because we don't want to go down the wrong path.
Speaker:Now, as a result, we're not going down any path and we're staying stuck on
Speaker:the other side of that chasm. We haven't even crossed the bridge because we're afraid
Speaker:that maybe we're building the wrong bridge. But what we have to do in
Speaker:those cases, if we have a fear about picking the wrong method, I want you
Speaker:to picture or to think about two principles. One is what
Speaker:I call the commitment principle. And this is the idea
Speaker:to remind yourself. Choosing a method is not like
Speaker:you're getting married. Think of it as dating. You can change your tool,
Speaker:you can change your process or your workflow. You just want to try it on
Speaker:and see if it works. Do enough research to get started,
Speaker:and then you can decide, is this working or not? Now, the
Speaker:other principle is the good enough principle, and this is
Speaker:having enough information so that you're at least ready to start.
Speaker:And once you've sort of crossed that bridge and you, you're at the starting
Speaker:line, just get started. Because it is impossible to know everything before
Speaker:you start taking action. You know, if I say I want
Speaker:to figure out how to be the perfect knitter without
Speaker:ever putting yarn on a needle, that doesn't work. Same with if you
Speaker:wanted to be a photographer, but I never actually took a photo. We know that
Speaker:take. You will get better once you actually start. And you'll figure out, is this
Speaker:the right tool for me? Once you start. So start with good
Speaker:enough, it's never going to be perfect. We cannot, in theory have everything perfect before
Speaker:we get started. Now, what if the
Speaker:fear is actually more about taking action so you actually
Speaker:know the method you want. You're not worried about the method you're choosing.
Speaker:You're just stopping yourself from taking action because you're
Speaker:worried overall, what if I Try and I fail? Or what if I'm
Speaker:just fooling myself into thinking this is going to be a good idea?
Speaker:Or what if this does work and I don't like who I become,
Speaker:or I can't really handle what. What is going to happen on the other
Speaker:side of this, if this actually works? Those are examples of just
Speaker:an overall fear. This is where you have to address your mindset on
Speaker:the whole about what it is that you are pursuing.
Speaker:And this is where we need to do that work to explore
Speaker:your why not. So what is getting in the way? We have two
Speaker:versions of ourselves. The desired identity, the place we want to go, and then we
Speaker:also have this dreaded identity of what? Well, okay, but this is the version I'm
Speaker:avoiding. So we need to start to explore and understand the
Speaker:why not and then start to say, okay, why do I believe that?
Speaker:Why am I afraid that the bad thing is going to happen?
Speaker:And is it possible that there's another way to look at this?
Speaker:All told, the whole reason I share this is
Speaker:because this middle in between phase, this initial setup phase,
Speaker:this bridge phase, it can be a
Speaker:bit of a trap for some of us where we get stuck there, but other
Speaker:times people just kind of want to cut corners and then they pay for it
Speaker:later. So it's really about finding that sweet spot of what is
Speaker:enough preparation. So I'm ready to start. I'm starting on the right
Speaker:foot. I have clarity, I have a complete method, but
Speaker:I'm also not getting stuck there indefinitely and
Speaker:not taking any action. And the next time that you start
Speaker:something new, I want you to ask yourself, okay, what does a bridge look like?
Speaker:How do I get from right now to that start line so I can
Speaker:start taking consistent action? That's clear. And I, I know
Speaker:exactly what I'm going to do when it's time to take action. Now that also
Speaker:brings me to an update about my current momentum
Speaker:experiment. Now, I shared last week on the podcast that
Speaker:I was starting to look at
Speaker:strength training and having a consistent strength routine. And one of the
Speaker:challenges that I do have is, is a history
Speaker:with hypermobility and injury. And so that's made it really
Speaker:challenging. And one of the issues that I have is
Speaker:what is the right method that I should be using? There are
Speaker:a lot of ways for you to get stronger. They don't all look
Speaker:the same. It does require some sort of resistance training, but
Speaker:that can look different. And as I've been researching
Speaker:what works for people who are hypermobile and who are prone to
Speaker:injury, I Have noticed that a couple of things keep coming up. And
Speaker:one is Pilates and another is kind of similar with
Speaker:bar, where they're not really heavy weight bearing,
Speaker:but they can still be effective at building sort of that core and that
Speaker:foundation and that I've decided that's going to be
Speaker:my experiment for my method is to focus on
Speaker:Pilates and bar as my main source. And
Speaker:when it comes to method, one of the things that I have
Speaker:struggled with in the past is if it can, the
Speaker:implementation side, just knowing I can do these workouts at home and
Speaker:I have access to a repository of these classes, so I
Speaker:have a peloton membership and so I can access
Speaker:bar and Pilates. But because I could access them at any
Speaker:time, it was often no time was happening. And
Speaker:so I've started to. This is new. I've started to implement
Speaker:stuff, scheduling the workout so in advance. When I'm in a good mood, meaning
Speaker:I have energy and I'm feeling motivated, I will
Speaker:set, sit down, and I will say, okay, what are the workouts I'm doing this
Speaker:week? And I've actually scheduled them because in the app you can
Speaker:say when you plan to do it. You essentially can create your own schedule.
Speaker:And just the act of choosing the class in advance and putting
Speaker:it in a calendar has helped me actually imagine what my week is
Speaker:going to look like. Whereas before I might've said, okay, time of day,
Speaker:I'm gonna work out at this time. But when I show up to work out,
Speaker:then I'm scrolling through the list and I'm trying to decide what I'm going to
Speaker:do. And there if I am at all tired because I've been trying to go
Speaker:in the morning, I find that I just can't make a decision. So I'm sort
Speaker:of pre in advance deciding, okay, what is the workout and when
Speaker:is it happening? And that's my sort of method for now that I'm
Speaker:gonna try it. The other reason I'm doing that now is because I do have
Speaker:some travel coming up over the next few weeks, visiting some
Speaker:family. I've got some professional development conference. And those
Speaker:are workouts I can do from anywhere because they don't really require
Speaker:equipment. And later on down the road I might explore
Speaker:actually using that. But for now, for this phase of my life this
Speaker:fall, that is something that works really well. So we're going to try it.
Speaker:I have already done one. I did one of my bar
Speaker:exercises and then I also did a little bit of cycling. But I want to
Speaker:make sure that I am spacing out my my strength exercises.
Speaker:So that's what we're trying. Next week I'm going to share a little bit about
Speaker:mode and I have a really nerdy experiment I've been doing actually
Speaker:for a while now to try and help me stay accountable
Speaker:with it's it's a form of external expectations
Speaker:and I'm going to take a picture and I will share that picture
Speaker:next week for this. It's definitely
Speaker:experiment. I've got mixed feelings on it but I'll share a little bit more about
Speaker:that next week when I come back. But no matter what,
Speaker:hopefully today when we talk about the method, you can understand
Speaker:that the method does require a little bit of prep. It will vary from
Speaker:project to project but taking that time to identify what's the bridge
Speaker:between now and getting started. So I'm not cutting corners but
Speaker:I'm also ready enough so I can take action and start to
Speaker:find and keep momentum.
