When is the right time to start (and how to get started!)

Whenever we are faced with a difficult task to complete, we always try to postpone it to later. Postponing the task gives us a temporary relief from doing the task, but we always forget that it’ll only get harder and harder to start the task later. And I’m not even talking about the stress of being late! So, let’s discuss in detail on how to overcome this habit, complete our work, and finally how to get started!

Waiting for the Right Time

We always think that we have unlimited time to do our work. In our brain, there is even a false idea that if it’s doesn’t need to be done right now, it doesn’t need to be done at all. This is because, in general, our brain tends to favor instant gratification (not doing the task) over longer term gratification (the task is done correctly).

So instinctively, we tend to wait for the right time to start. It’s a way of removing the painfull idea that it’s our own fault if the task isn’t going to be done. That way, we are just left with the idea that we don’t have to do it at all and are happy with it.

In the short term, I have to agree that we can be happy not doing anything. In fact it’s important to have times where we don’t do anything. However, if not done responsibly, this can lead to serious issues in our life. Issues that will lead to depression, stress and anxiety. We can even stress so much that we will not even enjoy anymore the time were we arn’t doing anything.

So, before this get out of hand, we better start right away right?

Waiting for the right time is just and excuse. There will almost never be a perfect right time for anything. And even if this perfect time exists, you’ll probably miss it or recognize it once it’s too late. Do you really want to take the risk of waiting for something that will probably never happen? Only to miss it? Is your long term happyness and goals that unimportant that you are ready to bet them on just timing?

Do you really want to take the risk of waiting for something that will probably never happen? Only to miss it?

So we should not waste our valuable time by procrastinating the work. Instead, we should start the work instantly and go with the flow. Remember that getting started is the most difficult stage. Once you are over that stage, you can let the flow guide you. You can even envoy the jouney. And most importantly, you’ll feel refreshed that you finally have DONE the most difficult thing: get started!

Once you got that idea that getting started is a good thing, then you have done 90% of the work! Congratulation!

Continue reading this article, and I’ll propose you some techniques that will help you cover the remaining 10% and start your journey to your better life.

How to get started

The 2-minute Rule

This is a good trick to overcome your procrastination, once you get used to 2-minute rule then you can accomplish any task with ease and at the right time. This is basically tricking your mind by making incremental improvements in your task.

You just have to, in your mind, break down your task into smaller tasks and start doing it for just 2 minutes.

For example, you are planning to write a novel. This is overwhelming! Let’s imagine your task for today is to write a sentence. You can just start that for 2 minutes. And here we go, you wrote that sentence, your brain take that as an instant gratification, and now you can work on your next task: writing a second sentence. And before you’ll know it, you’ll be at the 100th page of your brand new novel !

Once you are accustomed to this practice, you can also increase this 2 minutes to 5 minutes or the time you are comfortable with. Start with simple task, even if they doesn’t mean something. All you need is to start!

Productivity Apps

You can also use productivity and task management apps which are available all over the internet to help you with your tasks. Using an app can also help you with tracking your progress in the completion of the task. We also recommend taking a look at our Best productivity apps for 2021!

Writing down tasks to be done on the app is a task.

The goal of these apps is to overcome the fear of uncertainty. If you don’t feel motivated, not knowing what to do can be an excuse for not doing anything. If an app tell you what need to be done, you just have to pick the first item and use the two minute rule to get it started.

Also, remember that writing tasks to be done on the app IS a task all by itself ! It’s often overlooked but trust me, write that task down and start working on it for 2 minutes. You’ll thank me later.

Benefits of starting early

Gratification is important for everyone. Let’s see what instant gratifications we can achieve by starting right now instead of procrastinating.

Reduction in Stress

Starting the task sooner not only helps you to complete the tasks sooner, it also helps in reducing your stress. If you don’t start, then you will always be thinking about the task and this in turn increases your stress and affects your health.

I’m sure everyone had a time where some task was postponed for so much time that it start to overwhelm our brain every second of life. Even times of rest will become painful !

Recognition

When you start sooner, the quality of work is good and work gets completed at the right time. This improves your relationship with your work peers, but also our self esteem. It also helps in getting promotions at your work place. You’ll get recognized for your work.

Achieve your goals

If you start today working on your goals, you’ll always be nearer your goals tomorrow! Each day will be a little victory and one day, before you’ll know it, you’ll reach your goal and feel accomplished.

So? when is the right time to start?

There is a saying that the best time to start was yesterday, but the second best time to start is tomorrow !

By seeing the above points we can see that solving our procrastination can solve every problem in life. So what are you waiting?

If you still have trouble starting, don’t worry ! This work on yourself take time. But you are better prepared now that you were before reading this article. If you still have doubts on your ability to start, let’s meet again on my article how to stop overthinking. I’m sure it’ll help you further!