When good habits break – and the exponential effort needed to rebuild them

Wow, it sure has been some time since my last post. And while I have not been completely absent (there’s never a break from staying up to date on ongoing discussions regarding chain development as a top witness), what started out as an intended one-week break from writing and publishing new posts, quickly turned into several months.

Starting off this year, I made it a goal to write at least 2 posts per week. And for a long time, I kept a steady flow going, making it a habit to write for an hour each evening. Hell, I even completed my first ever monthly author streak, writing a post every day throughout January.

However, I got to a point where it felt like more of a chore than something I enjoyed. And I think an important lesson about positive habit-creation lies in that, namely that it's important not to overdo it, as I'll get back to later in the article. But more than that, I’ve experienced firsthand what I knew beforehand, that getting back on track with a habit after losing momentum is much tougher than one might initially think.

^{When habits first break they tend to break hard, making it significantly harder to rebuild them than it was to keep them going.}

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Focusing on habits

A lot of my posts this year have been about the creation of productive habits. The topic has fascinated me, as I’ve long underestimated the power of small and simple routines in not only contributing to achieving goals over time but also in reducing fatigue and improving mental focus. So I’ve gone through all the literature podcasts and public talks that I could find on the subject and made an effort not only to learn but also to incorporate the best bits and pieces most fitting to the life that I want to live.

And I’m happy to say that I’ve been successful. I now have much better habits regarding sleep. I start every day off with everything I need to get started with the day already prepared in advance, and for a while, I was even able to write quite effortlessly. Something that I had previously struggled with. I truly had great momentum in everything that I did. Until I took a break from writing that is…

The added effort of regaining momentum

We humans are hardwired to think linearly and to expect to see a direct cause and effect. If I say that I was doing a side hustle that made me $10 daily for three months, then stopped for one week, then the average assumption most people would make is that it cost me $70 in the opportunity cost of not doing what netted me $10 a day for seven days. However, this fails to recognize what makes habits so powerful in the first place: The diminishing required effort of performing a task, often combined with a growing value of performing it. Writing a post takes X amounts of effort initially. Then, as it becomes a habit, it becomes easier and easier to the point where it is just a routine. This, however, requires consistency. If you stop performing the task, then the brain starts to rewire itself to no longer associate the time of the day when you used to write with writing or sensing the same level of motivation to do so.

It’s like those good old play yard spinning wheels we used to play with as children. Big and heavy as they could be, it would take a lot of combined effort of several kids pushing and hurling their weight into the grips in order to get it moving. Once spinning, however, it only took a small kick against the ground every now and then to keep it going.
Habits are very similar. In the beginning, it takes a lot of effort to implement change in one’s life or to get started with and successfully implement a new routine. The cost-to-benefit ratio may not seem much worth it, as the effort seems large and unpleasant while the benefits are hardly noticed, if at all. However, as soon as one has managed to stick with it for a short while and built momentum, it becomes easy, if not completely automatic.

How to regain momentum

It can be quite frustrating to experience the struggle of doing what was once seen as easy. For me, I really want to get back into writing two articles per day and think I have learned my lesson in not overdoing it. So how can one regain momentum? It’s very simple. Do the easiest fraction of the task that you know for sure that you’re capable of doing at the desired frequency until you’re ready to up the level. If you’re looking to get back into running, then start by simply placing your running shoes at your door step every day that you intend to run so that you’re ready to go. Then start to make sure you take them on and get out of the house every day at the desired time but proceed only to run if you feel like it.

Do not make the mistake of demanding of yourself that you will complete the whole task at the desired level of quality right from the start. It will most often result in you instead doing nothing, as you don’t feel like you’re able to complete your goal, and then get frustrated with yourself. Break it down, do what you know you can do, and then do more. In my case, I will begin by simply making sure that I am away from distractions during the time of the day where I intend to be writing. That’s the first natural step anyway in accomplishing quality writing. Then, if I feel like it, I will write down some ideas for posts that I may or may not write in the future. Perhaps add some bullet points to them. But at no point will I demand of myself that I write a full blog post each day.

Having done this successfully many times in the past, I know the power of momentum. Once you start to get into the habit of being at the right place at the right time with the right mindset, while experiencing that you are able to do what you set yourself out to do, it will eventually become easier and easier until it is back to being a routine.

So my plan now is to do a few “low effort” posts sharing experiences from my summer holiday (which was freaking cool) in my next couple of posts. So that I am not placing a big obstacle in front of me that demands too much time and focus (which some posts that I write always do need). So I look forward to getting going again, and see how it goes :).

How about you? Have you ever lost momentum after having stuck with a positive habit for a while? If so, what did you do to get back on track and regain it?

Let me know in the comments below!