You may have heard this a lot, and I sure have. But when it comes down to whether it's true or not - I'd have to say most of the time, it is. So here are a few things I can share about how to actually start.
break down your tasks
"Finish your essay" can be overwhelming and daunting when there's a deadline a few days away and a half-finished draft, which is one of the main causes of putting it off to the last minute. James Clear in his book Atomic Habits talks about 'making it easy' to encourage the process of building habits because our minds will naturally tend to favor doing what's easiest or most accessible. So for example, when it comes to writing an essay, even if it's already halfway done, it can still be so easy to procrastinate opening up the document to continue working on it.
Breaking the task down into its simplest elements is a great way to fight the daunting nature of large things to get done. Telling yourself just to open your laptop, or that the first step is "open the document" and the second step is "write one sentence" can help you feel accomplished and easily fall into the 'flow state' where you reach an optimal productivity level.
2. don't overthink it.
Planning and scheduling the perfect time to work on a project, study, or work out can often be counter-productive. Being spontaneous is an underrated element of productivity because overthinking interferes with that workflow more than anything.
Getting myself started with something mindlessly without worrying about how much I can get done in the time I have has helped significantly, because it eliminates that sense of, "I only have 10 minutes, I can't get anything done" which leads us to scroll on our phones for no actual reason. It's a common misconception that the time we have isn't enough, because those minutes accumulated are worth more than we think - meaning, we can get so much done in those spare 10 minutes. And, regardless of how much you get done in that time, doing anything will most probably add more value to your life than those minutes spent on social media.
3. the more you get done, the more motivation you'll have to keep going.
It's a rewarding feeling when you look at a list of things you've completed and have checked off, which stimulates our brain's reward system that controls our dopamine levels, leaving us wanting more of that feeling. In other words, I often find that when I look at how many things I've done already, I feel accomplished and don't want to stop working. I end up losing track of time, ultimately resulting in an incredibly productive day.
On the other hand, when I look at a massive list of things to do and feel like I've done nothing, it can repel me from starting to do anything at all.
What I learned is that doing the simplest task first, then alternating between 'mentally challenging' and 'not as mentally challenging' tasks is what works for me and allows me to move past that plateau in productivity levels. That way, when I look back at my list of things completed as the day goes on, I can see that I achieved a good amount of work, which makes me feel good about how I spent my time and provides that rewarding feeling which encourages me to maintain that workflow.
I like to alternate between the difficulty of tasks so that I can spend my time in a balanced way - so it's not a bunch of easy tasks that led to further procrastination, but rather a stable combination of difficult things I need to get done, and also smaller tasks that are still important but felt like a break from the more demanding things.
"Don't lose that momentum"
the takeaway:
I totally agree that starting is the hardest part, yet simultaneously, it's the catalyst that allows any type of flow to begin. If getting into that first step is what's stopping you from starting something, then break it down, don't overthink it, and remember the rewarding feeling you'll have once you're done.
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