Procrastination and the first step

If you keep avoiding an important task, make the first step smaller. Writing three sentences is easier to start than finishing a whole report. Your “frog” is important work you have been avoiding; it does not have to be urgent.

What to do

  1. Name what's unpleasant. Boring? Unclear where to start? Afraid of judgement? The answer shapes the step.
  2. Write the first physical action. Not "write the report" but "open the template and type the headings".
  3. Make an if–then plan. Tie the step to a moment in your day that will certainly happen.
  4. Agree to a small amount. Allow yourself to stop after the first step. Continuing is often easier than starting.
  5. Skip the self-criticism. Beating yourself up adds exactly the negative feelings you'll want to escape again.

If the first step takes less than two minutes, skip creating a separate subtask and simply start. This is the two-minute rule: spend the time on the action rather than organising it. Apply it when you are ready to begin, not in the middle of other demanding work.

Example

Maria has spent three weeks avoiding an email telling a client the deadline will slip. She realises it's not the email that's unpleasant but the expected reaction. First step: list the three facts the client needs. Plan: "If I open my inbox at 9:00 tomorrow, I write those three points first." She finishes the email that same morning.

In Plynno

  1. Open Focus → Eat the frog.
  2. Drag one unfinished task into the focus box. Or press Choose on board and then click the task card.
  3. Start with this task: its title stands out while other tasks are dimmed. Move the box using the handle at the top if it gets in your way.
  4. When finished, mark the task complete on the board. Use Change task to select another one, or the close button to turn off this focus mode.

If a time limit makes starting easier, try the focus timer: for example, give the first step ten minutes.

Try this now

Pick one postponed task and rewrite it as a first step you could do in five minutes.

Sources