I’m reviewing my next actions: dozens of worthy projects waiting for me to do. But I just can’t seem to get moving on any of them. What’s keeping me back? What is so hard about getting things done? Especially with respect to the more rewarding tasks on the list, it’s a mystery that I fail to act. It should be easy.
I’ve fretted over this problem for years, yet I’m no closer to an answer today at age forty than when I first discovered my dubious skills many moons ago as a procrastinator extraordinare. Surely all that I need to do is stop worrying and just act—act, and continue to act until to get things done is as natural as breathing.
Oh, so simple! So easy to say! I fear I am caught in a cycle of anxiety and inaction that defeats me before I even begin. Faced with my list of next actions, I inexplicably feel anxiety about it with something like the force of physical pain. I balk. I seek out some numbing diversion to get relief: anything but whatever’s at the top of my list.
But I know I mustn’t nurse this fear, or it will grow. I will not escape by focusing on how hard it is. So I resolve to nurture hope, to act and not doubt.
TODO: Pick any next action. Do it! Repeat.