The physics of focus when starting a new project

What if the secret to hitting your full stride isn't pushing harder but optimally focusing your energy?

I hit a wall on Thursday night.

Well, not literally, but when I sat down to write, the words weren’t flowing as they usually do. I knew what I wanted to write about. I had the topics and even an outline.

And it wouldn’t come out.

I was expending the little energy I had left at 8 pm on an activity that required more energy than was available. I shut my laptop, and as Cori played with the pups, I had a few realizations…

First, I was forcing my writing. I had set an initial goal to “write daily.” At that moment, I was writing, but it felt as forced as it had the day before. That didn’t feel good, which kills the project's momentum and joy.

Second, I was missing a key ingredient — depth. I love writing in a stream-of-consciousness style, but it’s not great for the reader unless you want to see what goes on in my mind. Spoiler: you don’t, just ask my wife.

The stream needs refinement and it also needs research! I love sharing my experiences, but I intended to share and then expand on them with data or science when possible.

Third, I spread my energy thin. I took all my new project excitement and started diverting it to other things, like how to launch on YouTube and how to create an AI for copyediting help. Some might call this shiny object syndrome; in this case, I call it moving to the next part of the strategy too soon.

And just like with power outlets, if too many things are connected, you’ll blow out the circuit.

This felt like a great opportunity to put my insights into action and share with you. Let’s explore what hints science gives us about the power of focusing our energy and starting projects.

A brief lesson in physics

Conservation of energy is a core principle in physics that says the amount of energy in a closed system remains constant. It can’t be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. In the context of my journey, this "closed system" represents my bandwidth for work and creativity. There’s only so much to go around.

When I started, my energy was like a laser beam—focused on writing the newsletter. This laser-like concentration on writing allowed for a high degree of productivity and efficiency. It flowed naturally.

Then I diverted my energy to YouTube research, Instagram, and yes, even TikTok.

My energy was now being spread out. One concept to describe this is diffusion. Imagine light spreading out when it hits a rough surface. It loses it’s intensity.

But another concept in physics can also explain what’s happening and that’s entropy, the degree of disorder or randomness within a system. As the entropy in a system goes up, the energy within it is spread out, reducing it’s ability to do “work” as well as the “quality” of the energy. Some of that energy is actually converted to other forms, kind of like the exhaust of a car.

As I added new creative pursuits within the same system, the entropy went up, leading to lower efficiency in each task. Less energy = work is harder.

Said differently, I spread myself too thin and violated one of my laws for starting something new: stay focused until it becomes a habit.

Now I was inadvertently killing the momentum I had built. In physics, momentum is the “push” an object has when it’s moving.

Starting a new project is like pushing a heavy boulder. Initially, it takes a lot of effort (energy and motivation) to get it moving (overcome inertia), but once you've started and the boulder (project) gains momentum (progress and commitment), it becomes easier to keep it moving and harder to stop.

Splitting my energy changed the project momentum, slowing the newsletter's progress (and my enjoyment) by decreasing the velocity of newsletter work because it was going to other tasks.

For me, this was a good reminder: if it applies to atoms, it applies to us.

How you can apply this

First, identify what you care about the most right now or the most important stuff you want to focus your energy on. Another approach is to think about what you wish you had more time or energy for. I’ll have a deep dive on this superpower soon, so if this is hard, focus on the first few things that come up.

Next, make a list of what else you’re diverting some of your energy to.

And then stop diverting your energy and focus! Kidding, it’s not that easy.

Sometimes becoming aware of where you’re leaking energy out of the system is enough to get back on track. Once you see what’s happening, you can do something about it. For me, this means putting channels like YouTube into the backlog and allowing myself enough space to go deeper and build up the momentum of writing.

1. Pick one thing you want to spend more time and energy on (eg. this newsletter).

2. Pick another thing you’re spending energy on that you can stop (eg. Figuring out YouTube).

3. Spend one week consciously choosing #1 over #2 and make the swap.

When I feel the urge the go research something new or move to the next step in building The Adam Experiment, I call it out to myself and then I gently remind myself that it’s not time yet, but that it will be soon. Then I get back to writing.

Another important aspect to consider is your intention or goal for the thing you care about and to make sure it’s still in alignment. In my case, I’m adjusting my expectations around publishing so that my aspirations, intentions, and actions line up. Alignment, excitement, fun, and opportunities to learn all contribute to making things easier to start.

Given that this is an experiment, I plan to switch things up and adjust as I grow and learn. That means three things:

1. I will experiment with a M-W-F publishing schedule this week.

2. I will give myself more time and space to go deeper.

3. I will stay focused on writing and expert interviews until there’s ample momentum.

Real growth, the kind that changes the game and propels us to our full potential, isn't about relentless, scattered effort. It's about mindful, focused momentum. It's about recognizing when to dive deep and when to surface for air. And most importantly, it's about ensuring that every step we take is charged with intention, propelling us forward into our next adventure.

This isn't about doing less; it's about doing more of what truly matters, with the full force of your energy behind each push.

Let's tackle this together, experiment by experiment until we're all operating at our full, unstoppable power.