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Make the First Step Tiny to Start a Task You Avoid

Shrink a task to a first physical step you can start without deciding anything else, then give it a when and a where.

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THE WRITTEN LESSONFollow along at your pace

A big task is easy to avoid because you do not know where to begin. In this lesson you will make the first step of a task so small that starting feels easy.

Confidence comes from doing

Low confidenceself-efficacy: A person's belief in their ability to carry out a particular task or reach a particular goal. It is specific to the task, so someone can feel capable at work and unsure with money, and it goes with how readily people start and keep going.Full entry in the glossary is one of the things that goes with delay. And confidence mostly grows from succeeding, not from waiting to feel ready. In a review of many studies, confidence followed what people had already done far more than it predicted the next result. So each small thing you finish is a way of building the confidence you are waiting for.

A worried face labeled Low confidence and Goes with delay. Three ticked boxes, each labeled Small win, point by a dashed arrow to a rising bar labeled Confidence, under a smiling face. Labels say Waiting to feel ready, crossed out, A review of many studies, and Confidence is earned by doing.(opens the full-size picture)
Small wins fill the confidence bar.

Shrink the start

Shrink the start until you are sure of it. “Sort out the flat” gives a tired mind nothing to grab. “Clear the kitchen table” is better. “Put the mugs in the sink” is better still. Keep shrinking until the first step needs no decision, and takes a few minutes at most.

Three cards joined by arrows, shrinking in size: a large card Sort out the flat under a sleepy face, a smaller card Clear the kitchen table, and a small highlighted card Put the mugs in the sink, with a tick. A bar says No decision, a few minutes.(opens the full-size picture)
Keep shrinking until the first step needs no decision.

Write the first physical action

Write the first physical action, not the topic. Not “do the review”, but “open the review form and jot three points about the year”. A new manager putting off her first review could read one good example, then draft only the opening paragraph.

Under the heading Write the first physical action, a crossed-out card Do the review and a ticked card Open the form, jot three points. Below, a worried manager with three pages labeled Review, Example (ticked) and Draft, and a label Opening paragraph only.(opens the full-size picture)
Name the action you could do with your hands, not the topic.

Give the step a when and a where

Then give the step a when and a where: “Tuesday after lunch, library second floor, the practice questions at the end of chapter three.” A plan like this is called an if-then planimplementation intention: A plan in if-then form that ties a specific action to a specific situation, such as 'if it is nine o'clock, then I open the report.' It hands the decision about when and where to act to the situation itself.Full entry in the glossary. In small experiments, writing exactly when, where and how to do a pending task stopped it nagging, even before the work began. A vague note kept nagging.

A card with three rows: When, Tuesday after lunch; Where, Library, 2nd floor; What, Chapter 3 questions. A crossed-out card says Study, with a label Vague note kept nagging. On the right, labels read Small experiments, Exact when, where, how, and Stopped it nagging, above a smiling face.(opens the full-size picture)
Exact when, where and what beats a vague note.

Stop with a next step

When you stop for the day, write down the very next step. Ending mid-task, with the next move noted, leaves an easy way back in. In lab studies, about two thirds of people went back to an interrupted task.

An open notebook with the handwritten lines Stopped here and Next: check the last two tabs, and a bookmark. Beside it, labels read Ending mid-task, Next move noted, Easy way back in, Lab studies and About two in three went back, with three small figures, two of them highlighted.(opens the full-size picture)
A noted next move leaves an easy way back in.

An honest note

One honest note. The popular version, start absurdly small and let momentum carry you, has barely been tested. In one small trial, students told to floss just one tooth did no better than the others. So treat the tiny step as insurance for bad days, not a magic trick.

A box with three chips: Start absurdly small, Let momentum carry you, and a warning chip Barely tested. Beside it a tooth above the label One small trial: no better. Below, Insurance for bad days with a tick and Not a magic trick with a cross, next to an umbrella.(opens the full-size picture)
Useful as insurance, not as a magic trick.

Small wins and the week ahead

Small wins still matter for how the day feels. In a diary study of knowledge workers, making progress in meaningful work, even small progress, gave the biggest lift to mood and motivation.

A work diary with three ticked lines: Wrote one paragraph, Opened the file, Sent one email, labeled Knowledge workers. Beside it, a rising green line of mood and motivation from Monday to Friday, with the label Small progress lifts the day.(opens the full-size picture)
Small progress lifts the day.

It helps to plan the week too. As each week begins, plan your sessions, and give every session a first task small enough to begin without deciding anything else. Nearer targets help as well: turn “finish the thesis” into “draft the methods page by Thursday”.

A week from Monday to Sunday with sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and three small first tasks: Open the file, Write one list and Draft one page, labeled No other decision. On the right, Finish the thesis is turned by an arrow into Draft the methods page by Thursday, under Nearer targets help.(opens the full-size picture)
Each session starts with a first task and a nearer target.

YOUR TURN

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Read the full lesson script

In this lesson, you'll learn to make the first step of a task so small that starting feels easy.

Low confidence is one of the things that goes with delay. And confidence mostly grows from succeeding, not from waiting to feel ready. In a review of many studies, confidence followed what people had already done far more than it predicted the next result.

So shrink the start until you're sure of it. Sort out the flat gives a tired mind nothing to grab. Clear the kitchen table is better. Put the mugs in the sink is better still. Keep shrinking until the first step needs no decision, and takes a few minutes at most.

Write the first physical action, not the topic. Not do the review, but open the review form and jot three points about the year. A new manager putting off her first review could read one good example, then draft only the opening paragraph.

Then give the step a when and a where. Tuesday after lunch, library second floor, the practice questions at the end of chapter three. In small experiments, writing exactly when, where and how to do a pending task stopped it nagging, even before the work began. A vague note kept nagging.

When you stop for the day, write down the very next step. Ending mid-task, with the next move noted, leaves an easy way back in. In lab studies, about two thirds of people went back to an interrupted task.

One honest note. The popular version, start absurdly small and let momentum carry you, has barely been tested. In one small trial, students told to floss just one tooth did no better than the others. So treat the tiny step as insurance for bad days, not a magic trick.

Still, small wins matter for how the day feels. In a diary study of knowledge workers, making progress in meaningful work, even small progress, gave the biggest lift to mood and motivation.

It helps to plan the week too. As each week begins, plan your sessions, and give every session a first task small enough to begin without deciding anything else. Nearer targets help as well. Turn finish the thesis into draft the methods page by Thursday.

So remember: confidence comes from doing, write the first physical step, and give it a when and a where. Before the next lesson, write the very first physical step of your avoided task. Next, you'll try the five-minute start.