Momentum.

In physics, momentum is the product of an object’s mass and velocity, a measure of how much motion it has and how difficult it is to stop.

In our personal and professional lives, momentum often feels just as critical. When we build momentum, we achieve a state where our actions and progress feel almost effortless, like a downhill cyclist propelled by gravity. The challenge lies in maintaining this momentum, especially when we encounter obstacles.

It’s incredibly frustrating; we have key people on the bench itching to get started on a couple of things. But until paperwork gets sorted out, everyone’s kinda stuck. A lack of momentum. Projects, like objects in physics, remain at rest or in uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force. Inertia.

And I’m not good at that. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m incapable of sitting still and very easily frustrated by a lack of progress.

What habits, routines and mindsets do I need to keep moving forward? How do we avoid losing steam? Perhaps the key to sustaining momentum lies not just in relentless forward motion but in recognising and adapting to the ebbs and flows of our energy and motivation, and the bureaucratic inertia we inevitably face.

So today I’m trying hard to find the balance between pushing ahead and giving myself the grace to pause and recharge. Trying.

Some things I did this week

The highlight of this week was our team get-together. Our little business has grown from just Jon and I two years ago to a team of 12 Lithos Partners across five countries today. Six were able to make it to London on Friday for a morning talking through how we work and generally getting to know one another better. It was the first time many had even met IRL.

I left feeling confident that we have the right team of brilliant people,  proud of what we’ve built between us, and excited about what’s coming up.

But I was so overexcited about having everyone in one room I forgot to get a picture to prove it happened. We’ll have to do it again.

Non-work things I did this week

I saw John Cooper Clarke at the Paradiso. Clad in black, shades on, hair wild as his words, Clarke’s performance is a visceral experience, a collision of poetry and punk. I bagged a seat right near the front, the perfect spot to catch the way he rocked on his heels as he spat verse like a machine gun, rapid-fire and razor-sharp. Poetry, punk and poor health advice is perhaps my ideal Sunday night.

The support, Mike Garry, was fantastic too. His poetry about Manchester, Madchester, his son and what his Mum taught him made me weepy.

Coverage

The team at Modolabs have put the webinar I did for them earlier in the line online, available on-demand. Check it out.

What I’m reading

Too brain fried to do any reading this week.

Travel

In posts passim I have poured scorn on the ‘ironing room’, a dingy cupboard by the stairs where the jetlagged traveler, realising their gear is nowhere near work-acceptable levels of creased is forced to go and do the chores they avoid in their own home.

But this week’s stay at the Citizen M has made me reconsider. There at the end of the hall was a board and the most amazing iron ever that steamed the hell out of my crumpled dress in seconds. If you’re going to make a whole floor share one iron then make it the best iron they’ve ever used.