Smart people rarely have motivation problems.
They have friction problems.
The frustrating part?
Most friction is invisible.
Because it doesn’t feel like resistance.
It feels like:
“I just need to get back on track.”
“This week was off.”
“I’ll reset on Monday.”
“I know what to do; I’m just not doing it.”
That language makes it sound personal.
But most friction doesn’t live inside you.
It lives in your environment.
1. The Friction Audit
If something important keeps stalling, don’t ask:
“Why can’t I stick with this?”
Ask:
“Where is the friction actually located?”
Look for:
Does this require too many steps to begin?
Does it depend on memory?
Does it compete with louder systems?
Does it require emotional ramp-up each time?
If starting requires negotiation, you don’t have a discipline issue.
You have design friction.
Friction audit rule:
If it feels heavy before it starts, something structural is missing.
2. Decision Density
Decision density is the number of decisions required to execute something once.
High decision density looks like:
When should I do this?
How long should I do it?
Where should I track it?
Is this still the right approach?
Should I adjust?
Every decision drains energy.
Even if the task itself is small.
Low decision density looks like:
It has a time.
It has a place.
It has a defined next action.
It runs without renegotiation.
Smart people get stuck not because they lack clarity
but because they’re re-deciding everything constantly.
That’s exhausting.
3. Restart Cost
This one is subtle.
Restart cost is the energy required to begin again after interruption.
If you miss one day and it takes a week to restart, the restart cost is high.
If you miss one day and it resumes automatically, restart cost is low.
High restart cost creates cycles.
Low restart cost creates continuity.
Most systems fail here.
They depend on momentum instead of design.
When momentum breaks, everything collapses.
Here’s the quiet shift:
You don’t need more motivation.
You need:
lower decision density
lower restart cost
visible friction
Once friction is named, it stops masquerading as character failure.
And when environment changes, behaviour follows without drama.
Next time, I’ll show how to redesign one real example by lowering friction instead of increasing effort.
— Greg