The most reliable way to stop procrastinating is to get started. Not with the intention of completing the task at hand, but doing just a little bit.
By doing just a little bit to get started, the task you’re dreading becomes approachable. From there, it’s highly likely you’ll complete the whole darn thing.
The activation energy needed to get going always seems higher if you stare at the mountain ahead of you rather than the next step.
Even though I know the trick, it still amazes me that it works.
Links to this note
-
Productive engineers should write one pull request per day. One pull request per day creates forward momentum. Forward momentum leads to progress. Progress is how teams overcomes their biggest challenges.