Momentum is everything.
It’s something you either have, or you don’t. When you do have momentum—whether in life or toward a specific goal—it might feel small day to day, but it acts like a force multiplier. It builds skill, reduces your reliance on external motivation, and keeps your habits moving in the right direction.
Finding momentum
For years, I told myself I was learning Mandarin. But the truth? I wasn’t really. I took classes for three years but struggled to stay focused or build a consistent routine. After that, I picked up my studies on and off for another five years—never with real progress, and definitely without a daily habit.
About 60 days ago, I decided to try something different. I committed to doing one simple thing per day to improve my Mandarin, with the goal of becoming conversational in five months. I started with something I knew I could stick to: reviewing my Anki deck of Mandarin words. Just that—no pressure beyond a quick daily review.
That small habit stuck. Over time, I began slowly increasing the time and energy I put into studying—adding listening practice, speaking drills, and watching YouTube videos in Mandarin. But the key wasn’t the intensity—it was the momentum. It has become mentally easier to show up and practice than to think about breaking the streak.
It’s become a tailwind for my studies, and I feel like I’ve made more progress in the past two months than in the last eight years combined.
3 tricks for building momentum
1. Make it easy and small
This is classic Tim Ferriss. One of his go-to questions is:
“What would this look like if it were easy?”
It’s now one of my favorites too. Most of us overcomplicate things before we even start. Instead, start tiny. Write one sentence of an essay. Code one line. Learn just one word in a new language. Whatever the goal is—start easy, start small.
2. Start the day with an easy win
This one changed everything for me. I begin each morning by writing out my thoughts—just a mind dump to clear my head. Then I create a time block schedule inspired by Cal Newport’s planner. These two habits alone give me early momentum and help me stack small wins throughout the day.
3. Use a timer to break resistance
If I’m dreading a task or feeling stuck, I set a timer. Literally, I open the clock app on my Mac, set it for 10 minutes, and get moving. My goal isn’t to finish the task—just to start. That’s it. Once the timer’s up, I might take a two-minute break, but most of the time I just keep going. (This blog post started with a 10-minute timer!)
Final thought
Momentum is everything.
Stacking small wins and building momentum is, for me, the key to developing the habits and systems that lead to real progress. When I have it, it feels amazing—and it gives me peace of mind that I will hit my goals if I just keep showing up. Momentum compounds.
So I’ll end with this question:
What’s one simple thing you can do today to start building momentum in the direction you want to go?
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