How to start something you've been avoiding

Shrink the first step until it's almost silly, then do it before your mind finishes negotiating.

Avoidance compounds. Each day you don't start, the task grows a little heavier, and so does the feeling about it. After a while, you're avoiding the feeling more than the task.

The way back is not a big push. It's a very small step. Open the email. Look at the number. Put the form on the table. Small steps get past the part of your mind that's guarding the door.

You don't have to finish. You don't even have to continue. You just have to start. Starting is information: it tells you the task is usually smaller than it felt.

Try this · 2 minutes

The almost-silly step

1.Name the thing you've been avoiding.
2.Write the first step. Then make it smaller. Then smaller again.
3.Stop when it feels almost silly: "Open the folder."
4.Do it right now. Then decide whether to take the next one.

Put the thing you've been avoiding in front of you. That's the whole step.

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KAROTI offers practical ideas, not medical or mental-health treatment. If you're struggling, please talk to a qualified professional or someone you trust.