At the moment I’m re-reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. It’s a wonderful book on overcoming resistance and doing meaningful stuff.
Early in the book Pressfield says
There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t, and the secret is this:
It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is the sitting down to write.
You could say the same about decluttering, exercising, that project you’ve been meaning to do…
In every situation where procrastination raises its nasty, multifarious little heads, what’s hard is getting started.
So today, why not take inspiration from Pressfield and decide to whac-a-mole procrastination’s heads.
Forget the self-analysis, the mental games, the perfectionism. Simply focus on ‘sitting down to write’. On starting.
About to tell me all the reasons you can’t?
Instead, take that energy and grab a trash bag, pull on your workout clothes, start your project. If all you have is five minutes, do it for five minutes.
What will you sit down to write today?
I am liking Gina’s idea with the timer. I’m going to give that a try. Maybe it will take the pressure off and the disappointment when I don’t finish a task. At this point all my tasks are big. A bit at a time might make it more doable. My back is so bad I don’t last long on those using my back. Perhaps I’ll make two list. One seated and one standing. Then after ten I can move to a sit down job
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@GIna, Sounds like you have system that really works for you. I’ll have to give that 10-minute timer idea a try!
I have the attention span of a flying insect. I have a timer I keep on me . I set it for 10 minutes when I start a task. IfI am frustrated with a project in 10 minutes, then I move on to the next project. I again set the timer. If I am not frustrated after 10minutes, I will set it for another 10 minutes and continue. The function of the timer is to keep me on task…because in the back of my mind I know I can opt out in 10 minutes, if necessary. This mindset is imperative for me because the timer going off just keeps me mindful of a few things. First, as soon as it rings,I ask, “Am I making progress or going in a circle?”. If I am going in a circle, I ask myself, “Can I manage to refocus…or do I move on to task #2 and return to this in an hour?” If I do not do this, it is almost a guarantee that I loose my mindfulness and frustration takes over and I become unproductive and crabby…and,therefore, frustrated.And at that point, I am a lost cause. I usually have three projects for the day as goals. With this method I stay fresh. And it fits in well with life,s interruptions that invariably occur. “Conquering My World – Ten Minutes At A Time”
@Jenifer, the cool thing is that you can turn this getting-startedness into a habit. Good luck with this month’s project!
@Pam, that’s the beauty of starting – the continuing takes care of itself! 🙂
This really is, always the hardest part for me, especially with writing projects. I can knock out a writing project in a couple hours once I sit down to do it.
Last month I had a 3 page project due on the last day of the month. I put it off until the 28th and it only took me two hours to complete! Why did I wait so long?
I have a similar project this month and I’m not waiting this time. Going to knock it out today!
Thanks Michele!
Great post! Just getting started is usually the hardest part. If I can’t get motivated, I’ll often tell myself “just do it for 5 minutes, then you can quit.” Guess what? I never quit!