This article is an excerpt adapted by Ben Fanning from his forthcoming book, The Quit Alternative: The Blueprint for Creating the Job You Love….Without Quitting.

Maybe you’ve fantasized about quitting, but you’re not ready to give up your steady paycheck, 401k, or insurance?

There is a quit alternative. Transform your current job into a job you love by engaging with it’s full potential, marshaling the resources around you, and seizing the opportunities that are there for the taking.

Baby Steps to Build Momentum

Making big changes in your job can feel overwhelming and may stall your progress before you begin, so instead start with a simple small step to build momentum.

Take a baby step by beginning each morning in a way that will create momentum to carry you through the day.

Choose one of these strategies:

1. Start Your To-Do List with “Why”

When you turn to the to-do list in the morning with a sense of dread, it’s time for a change. Writing my book, I lost track of why I was writing it, and I began to dread the writing. What helped was taking out my to-do list and writing out the importance of each item. Doing this helped me prioritize and even eliminate items. It helped me push through places I was stuck.

2. Redesign your defaults

What’s your office routine? Ever sit in front of the computer all day because that’s what you’re accustomed to doing?

Do you check email every five minutes? (That’s 24,000 times per year, feeling a pulse of dread every time the “ding” of a new email arrives.)

Change your defaults. Rise from your desk every few hours, unplug, and take a walk. Or stop eating at your desk and go to the break room, if not outdoors.

Take a different path within the office, stop by the desk of someone new, even try changing up the time you start and end your work day when your schedule allows.

3. Organize the day to make things happen

As Seth Godin, author of Linchpin suggests approach each morning by what you “want to make happen” as opposed to “what you have to do” reviewing what you have to do, start with what you want to make happen. Consider which of these approaches yields the most energy and inspiration for your Monday morning:

#1: Organizing based on “To-Do”
• Respond to emails
• Pay bills
• Complete your annual goals

or

#2: Organizing based on “Make It Happen”
• Connect your team via a lunch-and-learn
• Take a risk by setting a big goal and enrolling others to support you
• Surprise the customer by going the extra mile on a project

Which one would inspire you?

4. Know exactly what you’ll work on before sitting down

Not much is less motivating than sitting at your desk not knowing exactly what you’re about to work on. Avoid these minutes of hesitation with one of these techniques:

a. The Ernest Hemingway Technique:

Nothing motivates you on Monday morning like momentum, as the famous writer Ernest Hemingway understood.

He left the last chapter or paragraph unfinished at the end of each day, especially when he knew exactly how it would end. So when he sat down at his desk the next day, he could immediately start writing. He never sat at his desk wondering what to write next.

Instead of staying late on Friday or working over the weekend to wrap up a task, pick a strategic place to stop, so when you arrive on Monday, you know exactly what’s next. This momentum will carry you through the day.

b. Five First Steps

When you know exactly what your first task will be, you’re more motivated to get to the office. Write out the first five to ten steps of the day in detail, either right before leaving the office or on first waking up the next morning.

I stick a Post-it® note listing my first steps of the day on my laptop, and then execute them once I arrive at my desk. This strategy fires your mind quickly into execution mode and boosts confidence for tackling any big issues that arise later in the day.

c. Connect with One Inspiring Person

To motivate yourself and put a spring in your step as you arrive at the office, don’t look at the to-do list.

Start your day connecting with one inspiring person. No matter what your environment is like, you can identify energizing and inspiring people.

Plan and schedule your first interactions of the day. Not much is worse than starting your day at the office with a discouraging conference call or a negative hallway interaction.

Set up a coffee or a conference call with someone upbeat and creative. This step is a low-stress self-motivator because all it requires is planning and showing up.

Connecting with your family at home is a great way to get motivated, too. Our family often breakfasts together for just 10 minutes, holding our own breakfast party. It starts our day positively and the momentum we gain carries over into work and school.

If you’re struggling to think this through, consider who do you look up to? Who do you admire? Start there.

5. Review Your To-Do List First

This is a tip I picked up from social media expert and New York Times Best Seller, Chris Brogan. Before you check email or social media, always glance first at your to-do list.

This simple default keeps you focused on your first priorities, whether business or personal, and protects you from the time-sucking minutia of work and social media.

Bonus Tip: Take a Morning Inventory

This step takes a little more time, but it’s extremely helpful for building your momentum. It’s one of my favorite momentum building exercises from Jason Womack’s book, Your Best Just Got Better. Make a list of your pre-10 am routine for five consecutive mornings. Then from your list, select one activity that can be deleted or delegated. For me, I deleted checking my email first thing. This allowed me to make progress on my most important projects to start the day and build momentum.

Now, choose one of the strategies above and take your first step in creating momentum for your work day. Notice this impact it makes.

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