As a kid, I loved watching the original black and white "Lost in Space" on weekday mornings during the summer.
I had to do something with all that extra time, right?
Every morning, I would eagerly follow the Robinson family in their search for home.
What made Lost in Space different from the other classic TV shows was that every episode ended with a cliffhanger.
Every.
Single.
Episode.
They were intense cliffhangers, too. A character would be on the verge of getting crushed, vaporized, or poisoned, the picture would freeze, and we would hear the "to be continued" music.
How could I not watch the next episode?
After a few years, I caught on to how they were able to create a cliffhanger at the end of every episode.
We weren't really seeing the end of the current episode. We were actually seeing the beginning of the following episode.
Let me clarify.
After the final commercial segment, the last portion of the show was about five minutes long. The cliffhanger segment. This part of the show had almost nothing to do with the other 95% of the episode I already watched.
Actually, it was quite rare that the cliffhanger had anything to do with most of the episode. But, it was setting up the beginning of the following episode. Sometimes, the cliffhanger would even be introducing the villain of the next episode.
It was brilliant what the Lost in Space people had done.
They created regular episodes, offset them by about five minutes, and in effect created a never-ending cycle of cliffhangers that kept us hooked.
We can use this in our practice or work to build our own momentum.
At the end of your practicing, give yourself a taste of what tomorrow will bring. Or, start on a new task for five minutes before you stop. And then imagine your "next episode" tomorrow.
Play some "to be continued" music if you need to.
Give yourself something to look forward to.
Then, do it again the next day. And the next day. Again, and again, and again.
Before you know it, you'll have a streak longer than the Lost in Space series. Something to be proud of and something long-lasting.
It'll even be in color.