Finding a catalyst

I seem to make a lot more progress on my hobbies than others, something I’m grateful for as a busy parent where if I didn’t have some tricks up my sleeve I might not be taking time for hobbies at all. The only one I know who makes more is my partner. I have a multilayered approach, but one of the basics that I keep coming back to is removing friction, trying again, then removing friction. I think of this as finding a catalyst — something tiny that has an outsized impact on getting the reaction going.

For me, even a small bit of change can cause me to commit to my hobby more often, and have more fun. Recently I got a new personal computer after 11 years. It’s so much faster and more enjoyable, that I actually feel like spending time on it, and thus I’m getting out some blogs for the first time in a while.

Then there’s the electronic bench I built (later improved with an upgraded bench by my partner). Having all my electronics gear in one place, on a bench that’s clean, meant that I enjoyed using it, and when I get around to it I can find what I want.

Often, something that removes friction can stop working due to a change in life out from under it, or a loss of novelty. That’s why I’m always looking for new ways and doing upgrades iteratively. Even seconds of friction (having to vacuum my garage gym or having to move something out of the way) can cause me not to do an action, like working out, as often.

When it works well, I always marvel. How could something so small keep me from doing (or kickstart me doing), something I enjoy so much! I don’t make the rules for my psyche, but I try to work with them and it ends up working out. A lot of my hobbies I therefore think of as “orbits”, as in I’m orbiting around doing something and constantly trying to get just a little closer to the sun of success. The important thing to me is to stay in orbit. Progress stalls, accelerates, stalls but is not forgotten.

What little thing could you start or stop doing that might have an outside impact on doing more of what you love?