I want my productivity back
After the end of the year holidays, it is time to shift up a gear and get back to work at the beginning of January. But that is easier said than done.
This year, I’m feeling the same as many of you — my momentum is gone, and I’m having trouble getting my usual workload done.
One reason is probably that I got sick just before Christmas, and the infection has persisted for almost three weeks.
I can still feel the after-effects. I need even more sleep than usual, and my energy level is still low. I wanted to write an article every day in January, but this is only the third one I have published this year.
Surely the illness had its share in this situation, but I think that the main reason for my initial difficulties is another: the writing break was just too long.
Inertia and Momentum
Surely you know the comparison in which the productive human being is compared to a locomotive. The locomotive is a monster weighing several tons, which can only be moved from its place with maximum effort.
According to Wikipedia, inertia is
the resistance of any physical object to any change in its velocity. This includes changes to the object’s speed, or direction of motion.
(read the Wikipedia article here )
However, once the locomotive has been set in motion, less and less energy is needed to keep it moving as the speed increases. The train has built up momentum.
Applied to us, this means that we initially need a lot of energy to overcome our inertia. Starting a project, getting out of bed in the morning, or establishing a new habit costs us a lot of power in the beginning and therefore needs a lot of motivation.
However, as with the locomotive, the longer a person is in motion, the less energy they need. In other words, if I write an article every day for months, I need less and less energy for it than I did at the beginning.
The daily habit of sitting at my laptop and writing is my momentum. I am like a locomotive in full swing and can hardly be stopped.
But as soon as you not only take your foot off the accelerator but stop completely, all momentum is lost. The longer the stop lasts, the more difficult the restart becomes. At this point, let us return to the example with the locomotive:
If the locomotive stops for a while, the engine cools down first. If it stays on the track for a longer time, the bogie starts to rust, and the railway track is overgrown by plants. A restart becomes increasingly tricky.
After a three weeks writing break, I now find myself in the situation of this locomotive, and it stinks to me.
But it is also important for me to have this experience because last year I often took my high productivity for granted.
If everything goes well, it’s hard to imagine that there could be more difficult times, but that’s precisely what I’m experiencing now.
I know that the next few weeks will be tough, but I know that after that it will be more comfortable again. Please keep your fingers crossed that I will quickly get back to my usual shape.
And if you feel the same way as I do at the moment: Believe in yourself and remember that it will be easier once you get going again. My thoughts are with you.
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