If you ever have trouble starting on something that’s important or find yourself procrastinating on a project, you may find it useful to notice what you feel at that moment and design your approach based on it.
Here is a list of “feeling-based” strategies that may help you get started on what you have trouble getting yourself to do:
If you are feeling:
1. unsure of where to start-> think of three really small, simple, actionable steps that would constitute a small amount of progress, but those steps in their most natural order, then start on the first of those steps
2. a lack of motivation -> make a list of all the reasons you care about this project and why it is meaningful or worth working on (if you can’t think of good reasons, maybe you should just drop the project), read this list back to yourself, and then get started.
3. too tired, during daytime -> try my “cool reboot” method (see: http://bit.ly/2Ehhy7N – just do whichever parts of the method that you are able to do wherever you are) then start working on the project immediately after.
4. too tired, during late evening -> go to sleep and set the alarm to wake up early, add another alarm on your phone to remind you to start the project shortly after you wake up.
5. overwhelmed by the magnitude of the project -> on paper, break the project down into large (at least mostly) independent pieces, then take the first of those pieces (the one that it would make sense to start working on next) and break that piece down into smaller (at least mostly) independent pieces, and so on, until you can start to see how you might actually accomplish the different small pieces since none of them seems impossibly large.
6. ambiguity about what the project actually is -> write down a first draft description of the project, making the description as concrete as you can manage (but don’t worry about filling in every detail), send this description to any collaborators you have for their feedback (if you have any collaborators), then get started working on any part of your concrete description that feels actionable.
7. overwhelmed by how many different things you need to do for the project -> pick the three easiest things to do that would still count as progress on the project, then start working on whichever of the three you think has the highest priority.
8. anxious when you think about starting -> make a list of the reasons that you think you are anxious about the project and write a short challenge in response to each reason (that points out any exaggeration or irrationality or distortion you can find in the fear), then do something that really helps you feel calm (e.g., take 20 extremely slow, extremely deep breaths), and when you’re done, immediately start on the project.
9. too distracted by your current environment to work effectively -> go to another room or a coffee shop or a corner (where there is nothing in your immediate field of view – try to face a wall) and put on headphones to listen to your preferred customized white noise (http://bit.ly/2nQIZuN) or instrumental music, then get started.
10. there isn’t enough time at this moment to make meaningful progress -> even a minor forward step is worthwhile, so if there is at least some small amount of progress you can make in the next ten minutes, do that; otherwise, schedule a few hours of free, uninterrupted time on your calendar to work on the project (picking a time during which you’re unlikely to be distracted by other things) and work on it then.
11. that you’re going to fail at the project -> make a list of the reasons you think you will fail, for write down one thing you can do to reduce the chance that you fail in that way, then make a list of all the evidence you can think of that implies you can succeed at the project, then get started on it.
12. it’s going to be unpleasant to work on it -> select for yourself an enjoyable reward activity that you’re going to allow yourself to do after you work on the project for an hour, then pick out whatever you think the easiest part of the project is, then go work on that easiest part for an hour to earn your reward.
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