Applying The Momentum Formula

Once you understand The Momentum Formula, the next question is how to apply it.

Use this page as a guide to walk you through the questions for the Method, the Mode, and the Mindset.

Start with your goal

First get clear on what you want to change. Whether it’s a personal or professional goal, what is the behaviour you want to change?

Method

Now that you’ve chosen a goal, it’s time to get clear on the specific actions required to reach it.

The Method is all about having a clear, repeatable process that will move you forward.

When you look at your goal, do you have an established Method? What is the plan?

Remember the Method is how we address a logical roadblock. If we don’t know how to take the next step, we need to learn.

• What information do you need?
• What skills do you need?
• When and where will you do it?
• What tool(s) will you use?

Fitness Example

If you want to increase your strength, there are multiple Methods available. Let’s say you decide to follow a 12-week strength training program.

You need to:

• know which exercises to complete, in what order, and on what day (information)
• be able to complete each exercise with good form (skills)
• choose a schedule (when)
• choose a location (where)
• have access to equipment (tools)

If you are missing any of those pieces, you will struggle to take consistent action.

Productivity Example

If you want to be more organized and manage your projects and tasks, there are multiple Methods available. Let’s say you decide to use David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) system using Asana as your software.

You need to:

• understand the GTD system methodology and how Asana works (information)
• set-up the system in Asana (skills)
• choose recurring times for inbox processing and weekly reviews (when)
• choose a location for processing and reviews (where)*
• have Asana on your desktop and phone (tools)

If you are missing any of these pieces, you will struggle to take consistent action.

*It might seem odd to think about where you will process and review since it ‘seems’ obvious, but when you can imagine where you will be when you do the work, you can associate the location with the action.

Mode

Remember that Mode is about asking, “How can I make this work best for me?”

It’s about embracing the reality of how you actually work, and not how you wish you worked.

Using the BEEP Acronym

The BEEP acronym can help you reflect on how you are wired, and inform possible adjustments you can make to support your progress.

Note: This is not a complete list, but should get you thinking about each one.

Biology

• What times of day are you most focused, creative, energetic, etc?
• Are you neurodivergent (ADHD, Autism, etc)? What supports might you require?
• Do you have health considerations to keep in mind?

Environment

• What physical spaces support taking action towards your goal?
• What environmental cues help or hinder your progress?
• Does the presence of others help or hinder your progress?

Expectations

• Do you stick to the plans you make or struggle to keep them?
• Do you thrive with external accountability or resist being accountable to others?
• Does making your goal known to others help or hinder your progress?

Preferences

• What do you like or dislike?
• What feels natural to you?
• What do you gravitate towards and away from?

Fitness Example

You’ve got the 12-week strength training program, know it, can do it, and how to implement it, but you’re still struggling to be consistent.

You review the BEEP categories:

• Biology
  • you feel great on the weekends when you work out earlier in the day, but struggle during weeknights when you work out after dinner
• Environment
  • you have enough equipment at home to do the workouts, but walking into a gym with other people working out helps you stay focused
• Expectations
  • Looking back, you’ve been more consistent when you are sharing your progress with a close friend who’s also trying to be more consistent
• Preferences
  • The 12-program recommends using their companion app, but you don’t like it

Based on these observations, you can make adjustments to the Method so it feels more natural to you, such as:

• Try moving the weekday workouts to an earlier time of day
• Workout at the gym for most workouts and have the home equipment as a backup
• Ask your friend(s) if they want to start an accountability text group
• Track your workouts using the app or notebook you prefer

Productivity Example

You’ve got your GTD system set-up in Asana, and know how it all fits together, but you’re struggling to be consistent so things are falling through the cracks and feel disorganized.

You review the BEEP categories:

• Biology
  • You’ve blocked 20 minutes at the end of every workday to process your inbox and capture anything new, but the end of the day is always rushed and unfocused so you rarely do it
• Environment
  • It’s difficult to focus on your weekly review when you can overhear conversations nearby
• Expectations
  • It’s so easy to skip the daily processing and weekly reviews even though they are scheduled in the calendar
• Preferences
  • You don’t like having your work and personal tasks together

Based on these observations, you can make adjustments to the Method so it feels more natural to you, such as:

• Try daily processing first thing in the morning when you are more focused and quiet
• Change your location for your weekly review, like booking a quiet, bright space
• Pin-up a blank monthly calendar beside your desk and add a checkmark for every day you complete the processing and the weekly review
• Try keeping only work tasks and projects in Asana and use a separate tool for tracking your personal tasks and projects

Discovering the best way for your to work is often trial and error until you start to figure out what feels most natural or is most effective.

Mindset

Remember that Mindset is about asking, “Why am I afraid of taking action?” It’s about uncovering the dreaded identity you are trying to avoid.

Now, take a deep breath.

Unlike Logical and Biological roadblocks, which are often resolved with practical changes, Psychological roadblocks are emotional.

There’s a reason Mindset is at the bottom of the Venn diagram—it’s like the base of an iceberg hidden below the surface.

Addressing your mindset is a two-part process:

1. Identify your assumptions
2. Challenge your assumptions

Note: The following approach is adapted from the Immunity to Change model by Kegan and Lahey.

Identify Your Assumptions

First you need to identify your assumptions that something bad will happen if you take consistent action on your goal.

Think about the actions you are avoiding. You can also think about any current actions that interfere with your progress—the ones you want to stop.

• If I actually do X, what negative outcome might happen?
• What must I assume if I believe that negative outcome will happen?

Fitness Example

These are lists of possible answers and not necessarily one person’s answers.

Productivity Example

These are lists of possible answers and not necessarily one person’s answers.

Keep in mind everyone has their own fears and dreaded identities, so what holds back one person can be completely different from someone else.

Tips:

• Think about the dreaded identity—the version of you that you don’t want people to see, or that you don’t want to see yourself.
• If your ‘negative outcome’ doesn’t feel strong, keep peeling back the layers until you feel the ‘ick’ in your gut.
• If you are struggling with this exercise, it might help to think about a real person you dread being compared to. [Yes, I acknowledge this sounds like a negative activity; however, our assumptions are based on our lived experiences, which are most often a result of interactions with other humans.]

Challenge Your Assumptions

This is where we push back against the assumption you’ve uncovered. Do one assumption at a time.

• Do I know for sure that the bad thing will happen?
  • Is there evidence that contradicts this assumption?
  • Are there other people who are taking action and not experiencing this negative outcome?
• If the negative outcome happens, might I be okay regardless?
  • If I take action and do experience a negative outcome, can I get back up and keep going?

Fitness Example

Let’s explore the assumption that spending time on your fitness is superficial, so people might think I’m self-absorbed.

• Do I know for sure that the bad thing will happen?
  • Is there evidence that contradicts this assumption?
    • Being fit has multiple important health benefits, reduces injury, and improves quality of life now and in the future
    • Not everyone who is fit is superficial or self-absorbed
  • Are there other people who are taking action and not experiencing this negative outcome?
    • My sister works out regularly and is the least superficial person I know.
• If the negative outcome happens, might I be okay regardless?
  • If I take action and do experience a negative outcome, can I get back up and keep going?
    • If someone thinks I’m superficial or self-absorbed, it won’t feel good but I know that’s not who I am and not why I’m doing this.

Productivity Example

Let’s explore the assumption that I can’t have freedom if I’m too structured, and I will feel trapped and confined by a rigid system.

• Do I know for sure that the bad thing will happen?
  • Is there evidence that contradicts this assumption?
    • Being disorganized and always trying to catch up doesn’t feel like freedom; I feel trapped in my own mess
    • The times in my life when I have followed a system, I’ve felt more freedom
    • I follow a system in other areas of my life, and I don’t feel trapped
  • Are there other people who are taking action and not experiencing this negative outcome?
    • My colleague is organized and has structure that still lets him be flexible
• If the negative outcome happens, might I be okay regardless?
  • If I take action and do experience a negative outcome, can I get back up and keep going?
    • If I feel trapped by following this system, I can look at other systems—there’s more than one way to be organized.

Take Action

Challenging your assumption in writing is a useful starting point, but being truly released from fears and limiting beliefs happens by taking small, safe actions and paying attention to what happens.

• Think in small steps
  • Commit to one small change for a single week
  • Check in at the end of a week and reflect on how you felt and what you noticed
  • If that felt okay, take another step for another week
  • Repeat

It’s important to recognize when you take action, you are not pretending you don’t have any fears.

You are taking intentional action in spite of having fears. And with each step, you collect evidence that you are okay. Even if something negative happens, since you took small steps, you should still be okay.

It’s about leaving the driveway. Take the bike around the block. Then a little further. And if you fall down, which you probably will, dust yourself off and get back on the bike.