A few days back, I published the 400th post on 35hunter.
This year, publishing a new post every 36 hours (7am day one, 7pm day two, nothing day three, then repeat the three day loop again) has meant I’ve hit this total sooner than expected.
The thing is, whilst a part of me might want to claim what a challenge it’s been and how hard I’ve worked to maintain this schedule, it really hasn’t been very difficult at all.
As with other aspects in my life – photography and yoga specifically – I find immense power in building simple, strong, sustainable habits.
Once you have the momentum a regular habits brings (and it doesn’t take long), it all becomes so much easier.
It’s almost like magic, invisible forces appear to move you along much more smoothly than you thought was possible on your own.
A simple law of physics (Newton’s First Law) states that a body will remain at rest or move in continuous motion, unless acted upon by a force.
In terms of habits like writing, yoga, and photography, I interpret this as meaning that maintaining momentum takes far less effort than the force required to keep starting again if you keep stopping.
Same as with a car in heavy traffic. Keep coming to a standstill and starting up again and you’ll be burning fuel and getting nowhere fast.
On an empty road though, once you’re at cruising speed it needs far less fuel to maintain it. So your fuel economy increases hugely.
In addition, the more momentum you have, the harder it is to get sidetracked.
Like a runaway juggernaut, a huge force will be required to set it off course. A few random stones and pieces of debris on the road it’ll hurtle through without feeling them.
The point of this whole post is that we can build great momentum and make significant and consistent progress in the areas we choose to focus on, just by showing up regularly.
Just by implementing a few simple, small habits.
I don’t write in intense 10,000 word bursts.
Neither do I photograph constantly on lengthy day trips, returning with thousands of images.
My yoga sessions don’t run into hours either.
Instead, I spend perhaps five or six hours a week on writing, over four or five sessions. My photowalks average 60-90 minutes, once a week. And my yoga is usually 20 minutes daily.
Add all of this up and it’s still only around ten hours a week at most. A week in which I have a total of 168 hours at my disposal, just like you.
There’s a magnificent magic in momentum, which I intend to exploit and enjoy over and over again.
How about you? In which areas of your life have you found you’ve benefited from habits and momentum? Are there any other areas where regular habits could help?
Please let us know in the comments below (and don’t forget to tick the “Notify me of new comments via email” box to follow the conversation).
Thanks for looking.
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Congratulations on 401 posts Dan!
Many thanks Jon, and thanks for reading and contributing!
It is like the power of compounding. Just a little bit each day, each week, each month, each year…it grows. In a decade you look back and there is a huge body of work.
Yes, what’s that saying – most people overestimate what they can acheive in one year, and underestimate what they can achieve in ten…
I do have some habits (like a daily walk), but they are not photography related. As I mentioned before, I need a specific occasion – event, festival, portrait session, etc.- to go out with a camera and that simply cannot be structured. But I understand this is different for those who see photography primarily as a technical activity and the subject is secondary.
Well, arguably the primary reason I go out with a camera is to wander the countryside. The photography part is a bonus!