I often have trouble starting projects because it seems like they will take too much time or energy.

Even if the project is important to me, even if the stakes are high, sometimes my brain will just stall when I try to get started.

Even if I have plenty of time, even if the project is manageable, there’s a chance my brain will get snagged on the one hard part. Then it will, subconsciously, tell me that the whole project is ‘too big’ or ‘too difficult’ and steer me away from it when I try to begin.

And it is subconscious.

I’m not thinking ‘Oh, that’s too difficult.’

But when I look at my to do list, my brain will avoid selecting that important item because of the energy and effort it will require.

And sometimes it will wake a while before I realize how long I have been rescheduling that same set of task and then I will realize that it feels too big to start.

It’s hard to oppose that kind of illogical thinking in the moment if you don’t even realize it is happening.

So, I am trying to avoid getting caught in that loop by preventing the loop from forming in the first place.

I have a few current projects that have the potential for that kind of loop and I am trying to spend 5-10 minutes per work day on those.

I’m trying to look at them in small increments instead of as a whole project.

I’m slightly concerned that my brain will keep generating busywork for these projects to keep me in the ‘safe’ 5-10 minute timeframe but let’s see how it goes.