In an ideal world, every online marketer would glide smoothly from “idea” to “launch” like a swan on a calm lake.
In my world this week, the swan sunk.
Let me tell you what happened…
I had a cracking idea for a product – the sort of idea you convince yourself you can knock out in “a week or so, tops” from absolutely nothing.
So I did all the “nerdy planning” stuff… but quickly as the plan was shining bright in my mind:
Sketched the outline. Created the product. Wrote the sales copy. Sorted the delivery. Listed it on a platform.
Made an affiliates page and mentally practised my “Hey, I’ve got something for you to promote” message and cheesy smile.
On paper, I was basically one strong coffee away from launching.
And then my body mutinied.
Diarrhea. Fever. Weakness.
The full “you’re not leaving this bed unless it’s for the bathroom – oh, and don’t think too long about doing that” experience. I’ll spare you the director’s cut.
And I lost something. Other than my breakfast a bit earlier that anticipated, that is.
Momentum.
The weird part is this: I didn’t actually lose that much time.
Three, four days, maybe.
But when I finally crawled back to my desk, wrapped in a blanket of misplaced optimism and electrolytes, it felt like I was looking at someone else’s project.
Files I didn’t recognise. Sales copy I apparently wrote but now wanted to argue with.
“Pah! Who wrote this bloody headline?” I thought.
You did, you numpty, three days ago, when you still believed in things.
All the energy and clarity I’d had at the start had evaporated. The idea hadn’t changed. The work I’d done was still solid. But the thread was gone.
That’s what momentum really is:
Not just speed. Continuity.
When you have momentum on a project you remember why you’re doing it.
You remember what you’ve already decided, so you don’t keep re-evaluating mad options. You naturally know the next step without a 45-minute meeting with yourself.
When you lose momentum, even simple tasks grow teeth.
Opening your project file becomes “a thing.”
Re-reading your own copy becomes “emotional risk.”
Clicking “publish” feels like deciding whether to invade a small country.
So, here are a some of things I plan to do in future (see if you think they are useful to you to)..
- Leave a “breadcrumb message” at the top of my notebook every time I finish work. Like this…
“Next step: Set up the links on the delivery page. Don’t touch the offer. It’s fine. I mean it!”
(Future-me is much more obedient when I talk to him like a slightly dim colleague). - Have one “minimum viable move” for bad days.
If I’m tired, busy, or the world decides to fall out of my bottom, I’ll still try to do one tiny thing that keeps the project alive in my head:?Re-read the outline.Add one bullet to the sales page.?Jot down three subject line ideas.?Not impressive. But it keeps the thread from snapping completely - Accept that perfection is a momentum killer in disguise. The longer I leave something, the more “perfect” I feel it needs to be to justify the delay.
The cure is almost always: Just say “Sod it” and ship it now, improve later.
The lesson for me wasn’t “don’t get sick” (although I’m broadly in favour of that).
It was this:
Projects don’t die because we run out of hours.
They die because we run out of momentum and don’t know how to get it back.
As always, I would like to know what you think. Just hit reply.
Something to cogitate on.
Last Week’s Round-up
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