The Physics of Progress
The Spark Before the Stride
Imagine sitting at your desk, the glow of your screen reflecting a week’s worth of silent effort. You shipped features, chased bugs, sent links—but the silence is deafening. No replies, no closure. Doubt creeps in: “Maybe I’m just not cut out for this.” Yet beneath the surface, an invisible force governs your progress. It’s not about talent or luck—it’s physics. One lever slipped. Find it. Nudge it. Momentum returns.
Opening Scene
You sit down after a busy week and feel like nothing moved. You shipped a few things, chased a bug, posted a link. No replies. No closure. The story in your head says “maybe I’m just bad at this.” The physics says something else: one of your levers slipped. Find it. Nudge it. Momentum returns.
Why This Chapter
Progress looks messy from the inside, but you can still model it simply. Here is a dead simple equation of how we determine momentum:
Momentum = Starts x Finish Rate x Feedback Speed x Evidence Strength
Four levers, infinite loops.
Pull any lever to move. Pull two to fly. This model gives you a way to talk about motion without hand‑waving—and a way to fix stalls without drama.
The Four Levers
Momentum depends on four key factors. Each multiplies the others, so if any drops to zero, momentum stops. Improving one lever lifts the whole product.
Starts
Starts are how often you begin work on a slice. They’re about activation energy. High start costs kill projects, so lower them with priming and cues (we’ll dive deeper into these soon). For now, try staging your file before you sit down or setting a simple timer to nudge you. When starts are low, you procrastinate and bounce between tabs, thinking you need a whole evening. Fix that by shrinking the threshold to just a tiny first move.
Finish Rate
Finish rate is how often you complete a slice you start. It’s about scope and closure. Finishing daily builds trust and invites more starts. Focus on slicing work into one clear action and setting time boxes to keep sessions tight. Define done as something visible—a link to share or a question you can ask. When finish rate dips, tasks expand and sessions end without artifacts. Halve your scope or add a hard stop to regain control.
Feedback Speed
Feedback speed measures how quickly a human reacts to what you shipped. Learning fast requires a short path from ship to response. Ask directly—one person, one clear question. Choose channels your audience actually watches, and make replying easy with yes/no or an emoji. When feedback is slow, try smaller asks or seed direct conversations until replies come within a day or two.
Evidence Strength
Evidence strength is about how clearly progress shows up. Strong evidence motivates you and convinces others. Capture artifacts like screenshots or short clips and add a sentence explaining why they matter. Centralize everything in a proof document you review weekly. When evidence is weak, you forget wins and argue with yourself. Fix that by logging proof daily and sharing it regularly.
Designing Your Rhythm
On low-energy days, pull the starts lever with priming and a tiny first move. On clear-runway days, boost finish rate by choosing a visible slice and adding a hard time box. For discovery pushes, accelerate feedback speed by seeding direct conversations. If doubt creeps in, strengthen evidence by spending fifteen minutes collecting and posting proof. Weekly themes that align with a lever can focus your efforts and simplify decisions.
When you stall, ask yourself four questions: Did I start? Did I finish? Did someone respond? Do I see proof? Pick one lever, make one small change, and run it for a week. The goal is adjustment, not judgment.
Quick Vignettes
When Finish Slips
If you keep “improving” a feature without shipping, the finish lever slipped. Slice to one screen with one clear call to action, set a forty-minute box, and ship a clip.
When Feedback Slips
If you post a link and hear nothing, feedback slipped. DM three people with one question and an easy reply path.
When Starts Slip
If you avoid the project, starts slipped. Stage the file and set a ten-minute timer to lower the activation energy.
When Evidence Slips
If you cannot tell whether anything is working, evidence slipped. Log proof and post a weekly highlight.
Treat targets as rough guides: five to seven starts per week, a thin slice shipped in 60–80% of sessions, a first response within a day or two, and one logged artifact per workday. These are cues for where to pull next, not grades.
Lever Interactions (Preview)
Starts and finish rate amplify each other. Small finishes invite small asks. Fast replies build strong proof, and strong proof makes starting easy. We’ll build stacks around these pairings later.
Working With It (Preview)
In later chapters we’ll design weekly experiments for each lever, build stacks that reinforce them, and use three numbers to choose which lever to pull next. For now, choose the lever that feels weakest today, make one small change, and watch what happens.
Watch for common misreads. Low feedback doesn’t always mean a feature is bad—it may be the channel or the ask. Try a smaller, clearer ask first. A high finish rate isn’t impressive if slices are invisible to users—check your proof log. Lots of proof doesn’t mean product/market fit; it shows motion, not fit. Keep asking for real actions that matter.
A short case study: week one, a builder ships a dashboard redesign and hears nothing. Diagnosis: feedback. Fix: five DMs with a 30-second clip and one question. Result: two replies in twelve hours. Week two, finish rate drops. Fix: slice to one screen and add 40-minute boxes. Result: four visible ships. Week three, starts feel heavy. Fix: stage files at night and set a 4 p.m. “15-minute push” alarm. Result: five quick starts, three proofs. One lever per week. Calm progress.
What’s Next
Pick the lever that feels weakest today. Choose one small action that moves it. Run it for a week and track the effect. Next, we’ll make the model practical with three simple numbers you can record in under a minute—your compass for steady momentum ahead.