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.