Set an alarm and decide “I’ll begin five minutes from now”
When you cannot bring yourself to begin, decide that you will start five minutes from now, set a timer, and wait. You will feel the difference when it rings.
For how to set alarms by voice, see the previous article.
You can watch TV or scroll on your phone while you wait, but ideally just sit in a chair with your eyes closed. If you dive into something else during those five minutes, it can be harder to stop when the timer rings.
In five minutes, the person cheering you on is “present you” plus “you from five minutes ago”
When we rely only on our present self to start something, we tend to go easy on ourselves. You need more than just present-you pushing you forward.
That is why you enlist “five-minutes-ago you.” Your earlier self still remembers the desire to act, so it feels as if two people are nudging you to get going. That smooths the start.
In other words, your past self is the closest other person you have. This method is especially useful when you simply cannot get yourself to move.
If you cannot start in five minutes, set it again-and rename the task
Sometimes you still will not begin as soon as the timer rings. When that happens, change the wording of the task and set another timer.
Repeat the process and you will eventually get going. Renaming tasks takes practice, though, so consider using the Task Management Partner service if you need help.
We are here to help you craft easy-to-start tasks!
Why “I’ll be serious tomorrow” does not work
Your timer does not have to be five minutes-30 seconds or 15 minutes are fine. Experiment to find the interval that suits you, and adjust based on how you feel that day. Just do not postpone it until tomorrow.
The point of choosing a short span like five minutes is to give shape to the intense emotion you feel when you decide to begin. If you put it off until tomorrow, it usually falls flat. People who declare “I’ll be serious tomorrow” rarely manage to follow through.
Once tomorrow arrives, you still have the whole day ahead of you, so it is easy to say “I’ll do it later,” and before you know it, another day ends. That is why I recommend keeping the timer short enough that you can simply take a breath while you wait for it to ring.
If you try it and still find yourself slipping into “tomorrow,” use the daily calls in our Full Support Plan to build momentum.
