Sometimes business is hard. If it was always easy, everyone would be successful and life would be quite boring, we’re sure. Regardless, we have never met someone that wanted to lose steam or momentum in their business or towards their goals, and, while there’s a ton of advice on how to maintain momentum we found that it’s useful to understand why we lose momentum, what causes it and how best to avoid the circumstances that lead to a loss of momentum.
Now is the moment!
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Why we lose momentum and how to avoid it:
1. Lack of goals and poor prioritization
Nothing is more dangerous to our momentum than not having a sharp vision on what we want to accomplish and clarity on exactly what we need to execute on to accomplish it. Often, we find ourselves easily distracted, off target and working on urgent but not necessarily important items. By maintaining clear goals and emphasizing prioritization we can keep up our momentum for long periods of time.
Avoid these triggers by regularly reviewing your goals and reviewing your priorities. We strongly encourage you to have annual (or greater) goals and priorities broken down by quarter, then by month, then by week and finally by day. It’s best to start with the bigger goals first (annual or greater) so that you retain focus on your greater vision for yourself and your business.
2. Burnout
Burnout is very real and becoming more of an issue every year for professionals, especially in the United States. The millennial generation has even been described as ‘closet workaholics’ and is a great example of how we are unwilling to treat ourselves to vacations or truly step away from work. The challenge is without balance and without a chance to rest is it hurts us more than it helps us. Pushing ourselves to operate daily at 100% with no opportunity to step away is like revving an engine to the red and never shifting gears or taking your foot off the gas. It’s simply a recipe for disaster.
To avoid burnout, we recommend maintaining a health work-life balance and prioritizing self-care. This means that when you create your priorities and goals in the first step you include self-care and personal time in your planning. It’s also helpful to review how and where you can either automate, delegate or outsource so you’re doing less and focusing your attention on the most important tasks and not just keeping busy.
3. Perfectionism
Perfectionism is impossible but it doesn’t stop many of us striving towards it. Perfectionism and, also fear of failure can lead to procrastination or filling up time we wouldn’t otherwise fill up. One of the greatest ways to lose momentum is to self-sabotage by trying to be perfect. Perfection is one of the greatest stall tactics and destroys momentum.
To avoid perfection, or fear of failure, remember that it is both unattainable and unnecessary. Focus on improvement, experimentation and execution and strive for greatness and mastery, not for perfection. Do this and you’ll be able to maintain serious momentum for good!
How do you maintain your momentum and avoid losing steam?
Also read: Maintain Momentum by Writing Down Your Why
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