⚡ When you're stuck — run these 5 steps
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Name the feeling.“What am I trying not to feel?” Anxiety, confusion, boredom, overwhelm, resentment. Saying it plainly shrinks its grip.
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Drop the self-blame.“That’s human. Moving on.” Shame is fuel for the next avoidance — don’t add it.
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Shrink the start.Make the first step laughably small — open the file, write one bad line, lay out the shoes. You’re only starting, not finishing.
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Remove one distraction.Phone in the other room, tab closed, door shut. Take away the easiest escape before you begin.
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Set a 2-minute timer and begin.Permission to stop when it rings. You almost never will — the started task pulls you forward.
🗓️ Set the stage — the if-then plan
Decide once, in a calm moment, for tomorrow’s hard task:
IF [concrete cue — time + place], THEN I will [tiny first action].
“If it’s 9 a.m. and I’ve finished my coffee, then I’ll open the document and write one paragraph.”
Pre-decide your escape, too: “If I reach for my phone, then I put it in the other room.”
🎚️ Turn the 4 motivation dials
↑ Expectancy
Break it small enough that success is obvious — kill the “I can’t.”
↑ Value
Bundle the dull task with a treat — the good coffee or the podcast, only while you work.
↓ Impulsiveness
Remove the easy escapes. Distance beats willpower.
↓ Delay
Set near, self-imposed deadlines someone else knows about.