Inertia

Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its velocity. – Wikipedia

By no means am I a physicist. I am in awe of physics but not in the sense that I enjoyed studying it while in school (nor in my free time). One could argue that the definition in the subtitle is misleading. I’d agree to some extent – I will not be going into any physics detail beyond the definition. But inertia applies beyond physics; it applies to our actions and mindset of productivity. Let’s jump in.

Ever try exercising right after a nice afternoon nap? Or have you tried to sleep immediately after a intense workout? It’s typically not easy. That’s because of inertia. You see, when taking a nap, your “velocity” is zero. You are not moving; you are still; at peace; completely relaxed. And exercising at any intensity is much higher on the scale of the amount of work and movement your body is going through. Thus, the transition is not an easy one. In fact, you are more likely to continue in other low-energy activities after a nap like reading, browsing the web, watching a show, or otherwise lounging around. And vice versa, if your body is going through a high intensity activity (physical or mental), it is unlikely to drop to no movement at all unless you are exhausted. Our body naturally releases endorphins, adrenaline, dopamine, and other hormones that cycle through our bloodstream. But it takes a while for the body to then process all those chemicals. Moreover, your body naturally wants to lower the intensity after a while as going down on the intensity scale is always easier than moving up. But adjusting from running to walking is magnitudes easier than running direct to sleeping.

Think of humans like cars. When you sleep, lounge, watch TV, or do most passive activities, your velocity is zero. But when you’re active, either physically or being productive, it’s like your on the freeway. Unfortunately, due to biology, our 0-60 speed is nothing like that of a Lamborghini. It’s more like a 1993 Honda Civic with 240,000 miles on it and an extra hundred pounds of sand in the trunk - it will take some time to get up to freeway speeds even if you floor it the whole time.

Consider the following situation that happens to me more often than I’d like to admit: my house is a mess – the floor needs to be vacuumed, dishes need to be done, kitchen floor and counter need to be wiped, bathroom needs to be cleaned and wiped down. I take a quick step back and think about how much work that involves – there goes my entire morning and afternoon. Now why would I want to get out of bed to spend my entire morning and afternoon cleaning? I’d rather just relax and go do something fun. It’s because my inertia is zero. So there’s no way I’m going to accept cleaning everything (figuratively 65 mph for a couple hours). However, our bodies like going from 0 to 20, then 20 to 40, and eventually 40 to 65. So, coming back into the present, I tell myself that I only need to wipe down the kitchen. That’s approximately one-fourth of the work, it can’t be that bad, so I accept.

It’s a slow start since I wasn’t really looking forward to spending my free time on cleaning but I persevere since it’s only one task. My engine is warmed up, and I am at 20, 40 doesn’t seem out of the question. I push myself a little to just sweep the bathroom floor. Before I realize it, I’ve finished sweeping and mopping the bathroom floor. I’ve done what I told myself I’d do. I’m officially done! But wait. I’ve already completed some work and my blood is moving around now; our speedometer is at 40. I figure it wouldn’t hurt to complete the dishes – it should only take a few extra minutes. Boom, that gets knocked off too, we’re cruising at 65 now. Now, I have momentum; I got the ball rolling. I look back to the list and see that there I already completed half of it.

At this point, there are two avenues: Work at the same rate and be done or take a quick break. Both of these situations have happened to me personally. It is always easier for anyone to choose to take the route with less work, but that just means you’ll have to find the energy to reach this level of production again. So, say I continue cleaning and wrap up all the work within the hour. Then, that entire list which seemed so daunting is out of the way!

Let’s consider what happens if I took a quick break. I sit down for what I tell myself will only be a little bit and start browsing my phone. Well after a few minutes, all that momentum I had going for me is gone. My “velocity” fell, and since its harder to move up on the inertial spectrum, I’d much rather sit around and play on my phone or computer than find the energy to go back to cleaning. And you know what that means: the remaining items weren’t finished that day.

The effort involved to move between multiple levels of movement is usually greater than one is willing to exert. Another example is if I tell you to walk or run 3 miles tomorrow morning before work. You might retort, “Um, no. That is not happening.” Instead, what if I asked you to dress in athletic gear and walk to the end of the street and back. Some of you may have the same reaction but realistically, many of you find this ask is plausible. What will often happen is that once you reach the end of the street, walking to the end of the next street doesn’t seem like too much effort. Soon enough, a mile doesn’t seem out of reach. Eventually, once you reach that one mile and feel in shape, three miles doesn’t seem out of the question either.

This is literally how I motivate myself to exercise some days. “I’ll go but put in 60% effort because I’m feeling lazy” or “I’ll only shoot hoops instead of playing a full game” or “Just go for a light walk and if I’m not feeling it, then come back”. By the time I arrive, my blood is flowing, and I’m ready for 100% effort or many basketball games or a light walk that turns into a nice jog.

The sword is double-edged, though. It can be easy to slip into a low inertia cycle which is also hard to get out of. A few rest days in a row or a vacation could throw off that momentum you had. You must convince yourself to just show up to some of the high momentum activities you were doing previously. Then you can get the ball rolling again.

Most of what I’ve spoken to is a physical application of inertia. However, it is not only in the physical world that this applies. Your mind and work ethic can also be conditioned like this. When I was a Masters student, I had numerous side projects going on, applications to summer internships, and a part-time internship. About a month into the semester, there was one week where a lot of work was piling up, and I felt like I was drowning in work. I was barely able to complete all the tasks on time with quality that I was happy with. But after that week (after some deserved rest), I kept up a notch below that level of effort for the rest of the semester. Grinding hard but not feeling like I was overburdened. Eventually, I was ahead of all other students on the assignments, got straight As a result, I completed the part-time internship and had a summer internship lined up. After my semester ended and before my summer internship began, my productivity sank like a rock because there was no need for a high mental capacity. I transferred most of that inertia to working out and my other hobbies. Those couple months were the most productive, worthwhile, and engaging months of school I’ve ever felt. I may expand on this later on as a part 2 of inertia (working on difficult tasks, learning new subjects on your own, doing things outside of your comfort zone).

In conclusion – yes, I believe in inertia as a major force that we use to motivate or avoid doing certain tasks. I also believe, that once you know this, you can kind of trick yourself into doing tedious activities. Once you get to a velocity that your mind and body are happy with, maintaining that level is probably easier than you think. All you need to do is try!

My challenge to you: every time you are feeling lethargic, I want you to just get into athletic gear and walk to the end of your block. If you are really tired, turn around and come back. But if the walk wasn’t that bad, keep going!