Inertia: Getting The Ball Rolling
September 12, 2026
Inertia is one of those things where the obvious advice
just startis technically true but useless, because if starting were easy we'd have already begun. So let's go a level deeper.
The clean laundry's been sitting in the basket for several days. It only takes maybe ten minutes to put away, but every time we glance at it, we think
not right now,and close the door instead. That's inertia. We might perceive this as laziness, but really it's that starting anything requires a certain amount of activation energy - a push that propels us forward.
Here's the cool thing though, once we're moving, we usually don't want to stop. I remember so many times when I literally dreaded doing something, like yardwork or figuring out my taxes, but once I got started it was rarely as big a deal as I imagined. The hard part was crossing the line from not-doing to doing.
Make The First Step Amusingly Small
Typically when something needs doing, we think about the whole task - clean the kitchen, start the workout routine - and that's exactly what derails us before we even begin. But put four dishes in the sink sounds pretty darn easy and that's the point. We're giving ourselves a low enough bar to jump over. Usually once those four dishes are in the sink, we do a fifth, then a sixth. In other words, we often keep going and before we know it, the entire kitchen is clean.
Be Open To Starting Poorly
Ever notice how much easier it is to reply to a text message, than write a properly worded response to an email? Sure, one may be less important than the other, but part of the ease is because we've given ourselves permission for the text to be sloppy, like using acronyms, emojis and incomplete sentences. In an email, we're trying to start it and be proper at the same time. By separating the two and allowing ourselves to write a terrible first draft - bullet points, no greeting, and whatever else gets the ideas out - we've begun and then can just go back and polish things up on the second pass. I can attest that it's way easier to fix a funky paragraph than to write a perfect one from scratch. In fact, this is often why many people who have thought about writing a book, never actually do. They're looking at the whole process - writing an engaging story, editing it, publishing it - which can feel extremely overwhelming, when all it really takes to get the ball rolling, is jotting down a few sloppy paragraphs.
Use Strategic Planning To Block Excuses
Think about the difference between our gym bag packed and sitting by the door, versus our gym clothes buried in a drawer somewhere. Same workout. Wildly different odds we'll actually go. Although having the bag packed isn't foolproof, the clothes buried in a drawer requires us to make numerous extra decisions before even getting out the door, and any one of those is a chance to bail.
This is why many people who want to eat healthier often plan their homemade meals in advance. Yes, it's super efficient but another reason is, not having all the ingredients that a recipe calls for when it's time to make dinner, is exactly the kind of gap where
let's just order outcan slip in. The same is true for those that keep a book on their nightstand so they'll read before bed instead of scrolling the internet. They're not relying solely on willpower. They're relying on the book being there.
Attach It To Something That Already Happens
I'll do it when I feel motivatedis a plan that depends on a feeling that may never show up. A better plan is tying the new thing to something we already do regularly. We brush our teeth every day, so we leave our vitamins right next to the toothbrush. We always make coffee in the morning, so while it's brewing we do our five minutes of stretching or jumping on the trampoline. Rather than waiting for an influx of motivation, we're simply hitching a ride on a habit that already exists.
Is It Actually Inertia?
Sometimes what looks like inertia is underlying anxiety about the task, unclear next steps or genuine ambivalence about whether it's worth doing, which require completely different approaches. What I mean is, not every stall is about starting. Let's say we've been intending to reply to a friend's email for several days, yet keep putting it off. This doesn't mean responding is hard. It could be that we just don't know what to say, or perhaps there's something a little uncomfortable in the conversation we're sidestepping. If we've delayed responding because we're dreading the potential outcome, that's not inertia. It's a different matter entirely that no amount of sloppy drafts will solve. So it's worth asking ourselves when we're stuck,
Is this actually difficult to start, or am I just avoiding what may happen once I do?
The Pattern Beneath It All
Sir Isaac Newton's first law of motion,
An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion at a constant speed and in a straight line unless acted upon by a net external force.
Inertia is a predictable physical law and the wisest people don't fight it, they redirect it by changing conditions so less energy is needed for success. Every one of these little tricks is doing the same thing: shrinking the space between inaction and movement. The four dishes, the gym bag by the door, the vitamins next to the toothbrush, none of them require us to suddenly become more disciplined and motivated. They are simple ways to get the ball rolling, so there are fewer excuses standing between us and the first move.