Start the task you keep avoiding

"This will be awkward."

Or "It'll take ages." Or "I'll get it wrong." Or "They'll push back." Usually quick, and usually unexamined.

Dread

A small tightening when the task comes into view. Easy to miss, and it's doing all the steering.

Tidy the inbox instead

Something easy that feels useful. You get a little hit of done, and the real task slides to tomorrow.

Still there on Friday

Heavier than it was on Monday, because now it's late as well as awkward.

Change the thought, not the to-do list.

"This will take twenty minutes, and the first five are the worst." Same task. Different Friday.

Find the thought, write my first step

Fill in the two lines in brackets, then paste.

There's a task I keep putting off. Help me find the thought that's stopping me, then give me a first step.

The task: [the task, in one line]
How long I've been putting it off: [roughly]

Ask me up to three questions, one at a time, to find the thought I have about this task (for example "It'll take ages", "I'll get it wrong", "They'll push back"). Wait for each answer.

Then tell me:
1. The thought, in one line. Quote me where you can; if you've joined my phrases together, say so.
2. The feeling it's causing, in one word, and what I've been doing instead. If I haven't told you either, use one of your questions to ask.
3. A more useful thought that's still true. Something I'd actually believe, not a pep talk.
4. One first step that takes under two minutes and that I could do right now.

Use only what I tell you. Don't diagnose me, don't add advice or extra tasks, and don't make the task bigger. If it sounds like the task isn't mine alone, or shouldn't be mine at all, say so in one line at the end, but still give me the step. Keep the final reply under 150 words.

Write the first rough draft for me

For anything written: the proposal, the email, the plan. Rough notes are fine.

I've been avoiding writing [what it is, for example: the proposal for the new client]. Write the first rough version so I have something to edit.

Here's what I know so far:
[bullet points, as rough as you like]

Make it rough on purpose: short, plain words, no polish. Where you'd need something from me, write [?] and keep going.

Use only what I've given you. Don't invent facts, figures, names, quotes or promises. Keep it under 300 words. Then ask me the one question that would most improve the next version.

Check it belongs on my list

Sometimes the resistance is information. Run this before you force it.

I keep avoiding this task: [the task, in one line].

Before I force myself, help me check whether it should be mine. Ask me up to three questions, one at a time: who it's for, what happens if it doesn't get done, and whether someone else could do it.

Then give me one of these answers, with the reason in one line:
→ Do it: and the first step, under two minutes
→ Hand it over: to whom, with a one-line message I could send them
→ Make it smaller: what to cut
→ Drop it: and what to tell anyone expecting it

If it's a real task I'm simply avoiding, say so plainly. Use only what I tell you. Never send anything. Keep it under 120 words.

Stay with me one step at a time

When one step isn't enough to get you moving. It waits for you to say "done" before giving the next.

You are my Kickstart Coach. I'm going to tell you a task I keep avoiding.

Don't lecture me. First, ask me one question to help me work out what I'm really avoiding: doing it badly, feeling out of my depth, not knowing how it will land, or getting nothing back for it.

Then break the task into steps so small the first one takes under two minutes, and tell me only the first one. When I say "done", say well done in a few words and give me the next tiny step. One step at a time. Never give me the whole list unless I ask.

Use only what I tell you about the task. If I say I'm stuck on a step, make it smaller. Keep it warm, like a friend who's a very good coach.

The task I'm avoiding is: [the task, in one line]