The Reality of Effort

We all juggle multiple responsibilities. We have work, family, hobbies, personal growth; maybe church, passion projects, and side hustles. Not to mention that we still need to sleep and take care of ourselves. Each of these areas of our lives requires effort and time.

It’s not possible to give them all 100% all the time. When we try to overdo it, we hit a wall and burn out, but when we don’t give it enough effort we don’t feel like we’re making progress. If we don’t manage effort and time wisely, we either burn out or stay stuck in cycles of frustration. There’s got to be a way to make sustainable progress and be consistent.

Let’s explore three general models of effort that include some potential example areas of our lives, and see how we can find sustainable effort, growth, momentum, and consistency.

The Momentum Effect

Before we dive into the effort models, it’s important to understand the momentum effect.

This effect is called by different names in different areas of research. It might be called behavioral momentum, the endowed progress effect, reward prediction & dopamine feedback, effort justification, flow residual effect behavior, or a compounding effect. Regardless of what it’s called, the idea is always the same. 

The idea is that action causes lasting impact or aftereffects, where action continues to influence subsequent events or actions. These events might be the sense of wellness and accomplishment you feel after exercising, the sense of creativity after working on an engaging project, the sense of happiness after being around the people you love, or any other positive feeling after taking action. Subsequent actions taken are also positively affected. So after you’ve taken action, there is still residual impact and energy, creating a sense of momentum. 

The momentum effect is part of what allows us to stay consistent, committed, and focused. 

The Total Burnout Model

What happens when you go all in on everything? You jump on a strict diet, start an intense HIIT workout routine, give maximum effort at work, and you generally just give it all to everything. You try to do everything at once, it’s all about effort. Every area is maximum effort, because you want to see that progress.

This isn’t sustainable. You end up exhausted, frustrated, burnt out, and probably sick. You likely end up quitting because you just don’t have it in you to do this. Nobody does. This model is unsustainable, unreasonable, and impossible to maintain. Even if you do manage to stick with it for a while, you inevitably end up falling off the wagon at some point, because it’s just so  unsustainable. It feels good to give everything all you’ve got, because you tell yourself that’s how you’ll get results, but there’s no chance to build momentum. The problem here is that you’re not a machine, nobody really is.

Burnout occurs when effort is unsustainable over time. It’s a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. The cognitive, emotional, and physical overload that we experience in burnout makes us less effective in every area of our life when we try to do too much. If you burn out, you can’t make progress – you stop entirely. 

Notice that this all-out, total burnout model doesn’t allow you to take advantage of the momentum effect. It’s all or nothing. This model isn’t sustainable, and it will cause you to regress. It’s not realistic.

The Inconsistent Model: Sprinting, Burnout, Stopping, & Frustration

What happens when you go all out on exercise for a few weeks, but then work or family demands take over? What happens when you get excited about a creative project, but then drop it when life gets busy? This is what it feels like to jump from goal to goal. You never really get a chance to build momentum, and you always feel behind. I think more people suffer from some form of this effort model than almost any other. 

This feels all too familiar to me. The areas of your life may be different than the graphic depicts, but the result is the same. I was recently talking with a good friend, and this topic came up. The idea that we give it our all in certain areas of our lives, only to burn out. We end up not getting the insights or the progress that we hope for. We work hard, burn out, then switch lanes, only to repeat the pattern in some form in another area of your life.

In this model, we begin to see momentum take hold, which might be the most frustrating part. We work hard, we start to experience momentum, but we burn out because our approach wasn’t sustainable in the first place. In this model, you see that we work hard, start to experience momentum, but then effort just stops, only to start it again later, or maybe even not at all. There’s not enough balance, not enough sustainability in this approach.

Inconsistent effort doesn’t create lasting habits. Momentum is lost when effort is too sporadic. Small, continuous steps keep us engaged, while long gaps make restarts feel like we’re starting over. This leads to burnout, inconsistency, and even a decreased sense of self-confidence. Sprinting and stopping creates frustration. You feel like you’re working hard, but just not getting anywhere.

The Sustainable Model: Small, Consistent Steps That Build Momentum

So instead of going all in, what if you apply steady, sustainable, effort? What if you approach different areas of your life with purpose and intent? While it may not feel as heroic or effective in the moment, this approach allows you to build momentum. Each effort fuels the next, making consistency easier. 

You can see the momentum effect in full-display in this model. The interesting thing about this third model visualization is that it contains the same number of effort areas as the 2nd one. They’ve been rearranged to prioritize different areas and to allow the momentum effect to be most effectively used. This approach is sustainable, and allows you to be consistent. Over time, small actions lead to big results. 

You don’t see big efforts and then periods of time with no effort as a result of burnout like you do in the inconsistent model. Instead, you see spaced out, sustainable effort that takes advantage of momentum. The sustainable model is the key to consistency. This is the key to results.

Personally, when I’ve applied this 3rd model to my own life, I’ve seen progress. I’ve seen relationships improve, my physical health improve, and my outcomes in work improve. I’ve experienced better self-confidence and better emotional and mental health as well, when I’ve applied a more sustainable approach. It doesn’t feel as effective in the moment because I’m not making a grand gesture. But, over time (and usually shorter than you think it will be), you begin to recognize the positive effects of a sustainable approach.

Behavioral momentum research shows that consistent, space-out effort leads to long-term success. Each small win creates a self-reinforcing loop making your future actions easier. When you make effort sustainable, it compounds, leading to actual progress instead of exhaustion, burnout, and frustration.

Let’s explore a simple example. Imagine the difference between just washing dishes after each meal, and not doing dishes for days. When the dishes build up, you feel defeated and frustrated until you finally feel frustrated enough, or have enough energy to tackle them. Then you’re burnt out because you just spent far too long doing way too many dishes, only to repeat the cycle. If you just do the dishes after each meal, the kitchen stays cleaner, which motivates you to keep a clean kitchen, including doing the dishes regularly.

The slippery slope is that once you begin to experience these positive outcomes, you have to stay committed to a sustainable approach. It can be tempting to experience progress and want to jump in even harder. While there may be some limited benefit to this, it’s important to stay committed to your sustainable approach.

Sustainability Doesn’t Mean You’ll Never Have Intense Phases

Life is unpredictable. Sometimes you’ll have to push harder for a season for one reason or another. A big work project, a house renovation, or family responsibilities might all require temporary extra effort. This key is recognizing these seasons and planning for recovery. You have to return to sustainable effort once the high-demand phase passes.

Because there’s benefit to the momentum effect, you can also just cut back effort in other areas, even drastically, just to keep the momentum effect working in your life.

For example, you may be asked to build a chicken coop and then a chicken run. It might require full effort for multiple weeks and take up most of your free time. But you don’t want all areas of your life to be maxed out simultaneously. Chances are, you’re going to end up loving those chickens too!

You might have a project at work, or a work deadline that requires long hours, but that’s different from living in a constant state of burnout. Short-term stress is manageable, if followed by some form of recovery. Planned effort surges work best when balanced with a sustainable approach. Otherwise, exhaustion kills long-term success.

How to Apply the Momentum Effect in Your Life

Consistency is built through sustainable effort, not burnout. The momentum effect keeps progress alive. Instead of trying to do everything at once and burning out, starting and stopping and experiencing frustration, apply steady, manageable effort. 

Instead of trying to force progress and giving heroic efforts, let momentum carry you forward. 

Plan for seasons of increased effort, but be sure to return to your sustainable practices. Remember the metaphor of the bike rider. Balance isn’t simply attained, it’s maintained in the face of forces that oppose it. 

Want a Practical Way to Apply This?

One of the hardest parts of staying consistent without burnout is being intentional about the steps you take and keeping track of progress, especially when progress is happening in such small steps.

The My Purpose Journals help you to…

• Stay consistent without perfection
• Recognize the momentum that you’re building
• Reflect on small wins that keep you moving forward
• Develop and stay committed to your values and goals

Whether you’re focused on personal growth, habits, or creative projects, having a simple, intentional space to track effort makes all the difference.

If you’re looking for a tool to help you sustain progress without burnout, you can check out the My Purpose Journals and Planners.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk