I haven’t posted any studies in two months.

When I slow down on drawing or posting, I just keep going in that direction. The longer I go there – the more difficult it is to reverse.

Recently I found something to grab onto to reverse this cycle. It was a massive relief.

The momentum loop

Momentum isn’t good or bad. It works in any direction, just like regular movement. It’s up to you where to direct it, and the faster the speed, the harder it is to stop and pivot.

The loop starts with potential. This is what you’re capable of in the moment, like your skills and energy. Then there’s action, which leads to results. What matters is how you look at those results. If it feels like progress, you believe more in yourself, which gives you the energy to act on your potential again.

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If you see a result as a failure, you pull back and your potential stays unused, you start going in reverse.

Building the railway

When momentum was working well for me in the past, I was doing anatomy studies and posting them on Twitter every one or two days. I didn’t have to stop and think or question whether I should continue, because I was already excited about the next project. The loop only stopped when I ran out of ideas, and then the momentum started going the opposite way.

The point is to keep finding new, exciting projects to keep it going. It feels a bit like building a railway in front of you while you’re already moving forward on it. Now I’m using the anatomy book I’m building to do this. It’s a plan for the next year where every single page is a new project. I’m outlining everything in advance so that when I finish one page, I can immediately move to the next one without stopping to think.

Build your railway

When I was doing my studies, I used a Trello board to keep track of everything. You just need a single place where you can quickly project-manage your ideas.

  1. Create a Trello board (or use any simple app you like).
  2. Write down 3 specific ideas for artworks or sketches.
  3. The next time you finish a drawing, open the board and immediately pick the next card.

Once you’ve got that going, just keep it up.