The Momentum90 Experiment

I’m trying a personal experiment called Momentum90 that uses goal mapping, a pact, and the Momentum Formula to establish a new habit. I’m sharing the details as part of the experiment while also showing a real-time example of how I’m using my own framework to take consistent, sustainable, and aligned action.

The inspiration

The past few months have been difficult. And it’s not just the whiplash of the news cycle.

In my case, it’s because a loved one is battling cancer (again) and the complications have been a roller coaster. I never know what news I might get from one day to the next, and I’m spending more time traveling across the province to be with my family.

Although I’d already made peace with the idea of scaling back work during this time and showing myself a lot of grace, it felt like an ideal time to reflect on my professional goals. (There’s nothing like a health scare of your own or those close to you to put things into perspective.)

Coincidentally, it was the same week Jay Clouse released a podcast episode resurfacing a clip from a 2017 Tim Ferriss interview describing a compelling 10-year visualization exercise. So armed with my favourite teal fountain pen and notebook at my go-to local café, I spent a few hours visualizing my life in April 2035 and mapping out my goals.

It turns out, the visualization exercise was far more impactful than I expected. Perhaps it helped that I was already in a reflective mood, but I was able to immerse myself into the activity and wrote six full pages describing a single day ten years from now. I could imagine a future Cat who was engaged in her work as a speaker and an author.

This exercise was the perfect bridge for me to start capturing my goals, but instead of simply writing down a list of goals as I typically do, I tried something different.

Goal mapping

A few weeks earlier during a whiteboard brainstorming session, I got the idea to represent types of goals on a graph of time and control. I had never seen them laid out this way before, and I thought this visual could be useful to me and others but wanted to test it out first.

The idea is to map 3 types of goals on the graph, starting with the Outcome Goal, then the Performance Goal, and finally the Process Goal.

Goal Type	Time	Control
Outcome Goal	Longest time horizon	Least control
Performance Goal	Middle time horizon	Some control
Process Goal	Immediate time horizon	Most control

Speaking goals

So first I started with my goal to become a successful speaker.

Although my outcome goal is to become a 5-figure keynote speaker, it’s the outcome over which I have the least control and will take the longest period of time to achieve. But, capturing that goal first helps me work backwards in order to identify the next goal type.

The performance goal is about delivering a strong keynote talk that results in referrals to speak on stages. While I still don’t have control over whether someone refers me, the quality of my talk is my responsibility. Which is where the final goal type comes into play.

The process goal is about the specific actions I need to take in order to reach my performance goal. Developing a keynote talk is the first step and one over which I have full control and can start immediately.

Author goals

Next, I mapped out the goal of becoming a successful author.

Although I have the least control over the reception of a book (outcome), I can work towards publishing a book (performance), which depends on writing consistently (process).

While I’ve simplified the performance goal to ‘publish a book’, I would only want to publish a book I’m proud to put my name behind. And while it’s definitely more in my control than the reception of the book, publishing is a team endeavour regardless of the route an author takes.

The common thread

When I stepped back and reviewed the two goal maps, it became clear that for both speaking and writing a book, clarity of ideas is foundational. The best way to achieve clarity of ideas is through a consistent writing habit.

Now, since starting my own business, writing has been an ongoing part of the process. But it has almost always been ‘just-in-time’ writing. I would write only when I needed to publish something.

But the more I’ve prioritized a personal journaling habit over the past year, the more I recognize the power in writing for the sake of writing. Writing regardless of publication. (And while I have a goal to write a book, which implies publication, I’m not starting a book just yet.)

So, armed with the desire to establish a consistent writing habit, I turned to my framework.

The experiment

I started to consider how I could use The Momentum Formula to support a consistent writing habit that also feels aligned and sustainable.

It helps that around this time, I was reading Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff, which emphasizes the idea of a pact (”I will do X for Y amount of time”). It inspired the idea to start a writing pact that uses the framework as a base for structuring the practice.

What emerged was Momentum90: Over 90 days, I’ll write 90 minutes/day, six days a week.

Method

The first step was establishing the plan, which is not just what I would do, but how I would implement it:

• 90 minutes of writing, preferably in a single writing block, but can be split if needed
• May 1 – July 29
• Monday – Friday is focused on writing for work
• Saturday OR Sunday is a reflection of the past week’s Method, Mode, and Mindset (what worked, what didn’t, what can I try differently next week, etc)
• Tool: Notion

Mode

Next was considering how I’m wired to support the practice through personalization:

Biology

• Write in the mornings between 8:30-10 a.m. when I do my best focused work

Environment

• Write beside a window with lots of natural light
• Use my old MacBook with no other apps except Notion in full screen
• Set a recurring schedule for Do Not Disturb from 8-10 a.m. everyday (exceptions for family)
• Hide my phone from view during writing sessions

Expectations

• Make it public by sharing about the experiment

Preferences

• Allow interest to drive the writing more than a publishing schedule

Mindset

Finally, I reflected on any fears or resistance I could feel creeping up about this practice and challenging them. Here are a couple of examples:

Publicizing the experiment may been seen as self-indulgent/self-centred

• I appreciate learning from other people sharing their experiments with changing habits
• Sharing about this process is only one of the things you’ll be publishing; I won’t only post about Momentum90
• If others think I’m being self-indulgent or self-centred by sharing the details, they are probably not my people

Why do you need to turn this into a challenge? Why can’t you just write consistently?

• My ADHD brain responds well to challenges
• Despite being structured like a challenge, it’s an experiment with weekly reflection built-in so I can learn what works well for me in order to build a sustainable, aligned and consistent habit; it’s not a challenge for the sake of running a challenge

Putting it all together

Ultimately, Momentum90 arose from clarity about my professional goals. Goals distilled down the process-level which can be supported with the Momentum Formula.

• The Method offers clear structure and defined boundaries
• The Mode personalizes the process based on how I work best
• The Mindset stays open and curious, challenging fears with contrary evidence

And while I may be sharing about this experiment in part as a form of accountability, I’m also sharing about the process itself to describe how I use my framework in my own life. Momentum90 was developed using the formula, and by giving you a look behind the scenes with this experiment, you can see a real-life, real-time example of me working towards building an aligned, sustainable, and consistent practice.

I’m only getting started, so we’ll find out how it goes.

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