We have all been in a situation where a lot of things have piled up and need our attention but we still cannot bring ourselves to do them. It is not about underestimating the tasks or overestimating one’s own abilities but rather something that we just cannot bring ourselves to do even when we know that it needs to be done. A common misconception people get about such situations is that they attribute this behavior to their lack of motivation and hence begins their quest for finding the “motivation”, something magical that can turn all their arduous tasks to nothing but a walk in the park. Since it is a magical thing, people spend a lot of time trying to find it while thinking that it deserves to be that hard and their reward will be even greater. If you have come across this article in search of such mythical treasures as well then I have to be the bearer of the bad news here and tell you that you will not find it here, in fact, I do not believe you will find it anywhere else as well. What you can find here are three simple steps that have helped me get out of such situations and maybe it can also help you in getting stuff done.
1. Make a Plan
I know it may sound tiring to some or maybe something very simple that does not even count as a solution but it will all make sense soon and it will definitely help you get your tasks done. Whenever you are making a plan to get multiple things done, you should always start by listing out all the things that you have to do in no particular order. Once you have listed them, you have to sort them based on the priority i.e. maybe some are time-sensitive or some are more important and actually facilitate the completion of other tasks if they are completed first. If there are multiple tasks of the same priority then the ones that are easier get the top priority. This is done to avoid exhausting yourself by spending too much time on the first task as it can waiver your belief on your list.
Once you have reached this far, you have to pick the top priority task and list all of the steps needed for it in a sequential order. I would suggest you do that on a new sheet because our goal is to make a plan that even a 5 year old can understand. If it is any more complex, then you are just that much more likely to exhaust yourself earlier. A good tip I can give you while writing all the steps is to focus on breaking down the steps as much as possible. That is essential for your plan to be followed and thus for making it a success. The simplicity or complexity of the task is not only decided by the effort that it will take but also by the time you specify for its completion. The earlier steps should be much more simpler than what you currently think is an optimal challenge for you, maybe only a quarter of an optimally challenging step. And then they should scale up as gradually as your task allows them to.
2. Just Start
Before you think that the process here is just to make a plan and get things done, it is actually not that simple. If it was, I am sure you would have already done it a long time ago. What this step wants here is to not let your carefully laid out plan go to waste by never starting at all. The most daunting part of any work is the start because many things are still unknown to you. The reason I asked you to have much easier steps in the beginning was to ensure you that they are well within your capabilities and would not even take that much effort from your end. But no matter how small the step may be, you have to overcome this fear of unknown and just dive right into it. Once you take the plunge, you will realize that although it has not become magically easier but it has become much more manageable than before. This will give you all the confidence in the world in your abilities to get the whole task done. If you still have some doubts about the future steps than just remember that it is only scary because it is still not clearly visible from this far away. Once you take the step and start, it will keep getting more and more simpler on its own. Its like believing in the process even if you are not able to fully believe in yourself for now. Eventually, you will do both just fine and finish the task as well.
3. Stay Consistent
But before you get carried away, there is still one more thing to take into account. Often times, you can find confidence by doing a step and while that is a good thing, you should not underestimate the upcoming steps. Maybe the upcoming task make you fell just the opposite but you always have to stick with your plan. Even if the current step is daunting, you have to complete it as per your plan. Do not cheat with yourself and try to deviate from it by making promises to make up for the undone work later. The work that has to be done today, should be done today only. This is also why you should make the plan with smaller steps that are realistic for you rather than opting for bigger steps and expecting yourself to rise up to the challenge. Often times, the image we have of ourselves is at a level that requires much effort from the current versions of ourselves to reach. You have to put in that effort slowly and progressively. As long as you do it gradually, you will not only reach that height but also go past it.
Similarly, you also have to follow the plan when the the step appears to be too easy for you. If the plan says to do something tomorrow, then you should not do it today after finishing the current step’s action that was due today. That is also considered cheating with yourself and with the plan you made and it will have many after-effects even if they are not apparent to you at this time.
Conclusion
That was it, my complete process which helps me to get a move on whenever I am stuck and have a lot of things to do. In a nutshell, you have to define a clear goal and break it down to simpler steps that get harder gradually. Starting itself is much more important than the actual complexity of the first task. It can and should be something easier that does not feel intimidating to you in the slightest.
Once you have set out on the road, you have to stay consistent with your plan and neither go high nor go low from what the plan expects you to do. I fully believe in you and even if you have doubts than just trust the process and know that you will be able to do it, maybe slowly but surely. Good luck!
