---
name: momentum-map
description: "Break a stuck, stalled week with three tiny wins sequenced for momentum — because motion creates motivation, not the other way around. Use when asked I'm in a rut, help me get unstuck this week, I've stalled on everything, or I need momentum. Produces three small, genuinely-achievable wins ordered so each fuels the next, a deliberately easy first one to prove motion is possible, the dopamine logic behind the sequence, and a reframe that you don't need motivation to start — starting creates it — turning a paralyzed week into a moving one."
---

# Momentum Map

Waiting to feel motivated before you act is backwards — motion creates motivation, not the reverse. When you've stalled on everything, the fix isn't a big push, it's a small win that proves movement is possible, then another, then another. This maps three tiny, achievable wins sequenced so each one fuels the next — a dopamine ladder out of the rut, starting with something so easy you can't fail.

## What This Skill Produces

- **Three tiny wins** — small, genuinely-achievable actions (not your whole backlog), each a real completion
- **A momentum sequence** — ordered so the first fuels the second fuels the third
- **A deliberately-easy first win** — something almost guaranteed, to prove motion is possible and break the freeze
- **The dopamine logic** — why completing small things generates the drive for bigger ones
- **The reframe** — you don't need motivation to start; starting *is* how you get it

## Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:
- **The stall** — what you've been stuck on / how the rut feels
- **A few things you could do** — even tiny ones (we'll pick and order)
- **Your energy** — how depleted you are (sets how easy win #1 must be)
- **What would feel good to finish** — the small completions that'd give a lift

## Framework: Motion First, Motivation Follows

1. **Reject the wait-for-motivation trap.** Name that motivation follows action — so the plan is to move first, feel like it later.
2. **Pick tiny, real wins.** Small enough to actually complete today, but real completions (not "work on X" — "finish the one email"). Completion is what gives the hit.
3. **Make the first one almost free.** Win #1 should be so easy it's nearly guaranteed — the point is to prove motion, not to achieve much.
4. **Sequence for fuel.** Order the three so each completion builds the energy/confidence for the next — easy → slightly more → the one that matters.
5. **Ride it or stop clean.** After three, either momentum carries you further (great) or you stop having genuinely moved (also great) — no failure state.

## Output Format

### The rut: [what you've stalled on]

**The reframe:** you don't need to feel motivated first — moving is what creates it.

**Your momentum map**
1. 🟢 **Almost-free win:** [tiny, near-guaranteed] — proves motion.
2. 🟡 **Small win:** [slightly more] — rides the first.
3. 🟠 **The one that matters:** [a real dent in the stall] — now you have the fuel.

**After three:** momentum may carry you on — or stop here, having genuinely moved. Either is a win.

## Quality Checks
- [ ] Reframes motivation as following action, not preceding it
- [ ] The three wins are tiny, real completions (not vague "work on")
- [ ] Win #1 is almost-guaranteed easy
- [ ] The sequence builds momentum (easy → more → matters)
- [ ] There's no failure state — even three small wins is progress
- [ ] Sized to the person's actual (low) energy

## Anti-Patterns
- **A big ambitious plan** for someone who's frozen.
- **Vague "work on X"** instead of completable wins.
- **A hard first win** that risks failing and deepening the rut.
- **Waiting for motivation** as a prerequisite.

## Example Trigger Phrases
- "I'm in a rut and have stalled on everything — help me get unstuck."
- "I need momentum this week. Where do I start?"
- "I can't get going on anything. Give me small wins."
- "Help me break out of this stuck feeling."
- "I have no motivation — map me a way back into motion."