By Tracey Ropp & Erin House
You know the task is important. You know what needs to be done. You may have even thought about it several times today.
And yet, you still haven’t started.
Maybe you keep checking your phone. Maybe you find yourself doing smaller, easier tasks instead. Maybe you spend a lot of time thinking about where to begin, only to feel more stuck as the day goes on.
If this sounds familiar, it can be easy to interpret it as a motivation problem. Why can’t I just get myself to do it? But getting started is a skill in itself, and sometimes the difficulty has less to do with how much you care about the task and more to do with executive functioning.
In our work with clients, we often see how much frustration can come from knowing exactly what you want or need to do, but having difficulty turning that intention into action.
Knowing what to do is only part of the process
We often think of completing a task as one straightforward process: decide what needs to be done, then do it.
In reality, there are many steps in between.
You may need to figure out where to begin, gather what you need, estimate how long it will take, decide what to focus on, resist distractions, and keep yourself moving when the task becomes less interesting or more difficult.
These are all connected to executive functioning skills.
Task initiation is one part of this. It is the ability to begin an intended task, even when you don't particularly feel like doing it.
This is important because motivation and action don't always arrive in the order we expect. Waiting until you feel ready can sometimes leave you waiting much longer than you intended.
When a task feels bigger than it really is
One reason starting can be difficult is that we experience the whole task before we've even begun.
“Clean up the house.”
“Study for the exam.”
“Deal with my emails.”
“Finish the report.”
“Get organized.”
Each of these sounds like a single task, but each one contains many smaller decisions and actions. When we hold the entire task in our minds at once, it can feel vague, complicated or overwhelming.
This is why simply telling yourself to “break it down” doesn't always help.
Breaking a task down isn't necessarily the same as making it easier to start.
“Work on my assignment” might become “research,” “write,” and “edit,” but you may still be left wondering what to actually do first.
A more useful question can be:
What is the first action I can take?
Open the document. Find the email. Put the laundry basket by the stairs. Write the first sentence. Set out the materials.
The goal isn't to finish the task. It's to create a clear starting point.
Make the starting point easier to see
When we work with clients who are struggling to get started, we often look at what is happening between intention and action.
Sometimes the task needs more clarity. Sometimes there are too many choices. Sometimes the task is boring or uncomfortable. Sometimes there is a fear of getting it wrong. And sometimes the person has simply been carrying too many other demands.
There isn't one strategy that works for every situation.
Here are a few approaches that can help you experiment with making the starting point more manageable:
Name the next action.
Instead of “work on my project,” identify exactly what you will do first. The more concrete the action, the less decision-making is required when it is time to begin.Lower the starting threshold.
Rather than committing to completing the task, commit to beginning it. Five minutes of sorting, one paragraph, or opening the document can be enough to get you moving.Change the environment.
Put what you need within reach. Remove an obvious distraction. Open the document before you need to work on it. Sometimes changing the environment reduces the number of steps between intention and action.Use an external cue.
A timer, calendar reminder, visual note or routine can take some of the responsibility away from remembering when and how to begin.Notice what makes this particular task difficult.
Is it unclear? Too large? Boring? Emotionally uncomfortable? Easy to avoid? Recognizing the barrier can help you choose a strategy that actually addresses it.
A better plan isn't always a bigger plan
Another common trap is responding to difficulty with more planning.
You create a longer to-do list. You reorganize your planner. You colour-code everything. You make a detailed schedule.
Sometimes these tools are helpful. But sometimes they simply create another layer of work.
If your plan requires you to feel focused, energetic and productive all day, it may not be a realistic plan.
A useful plan considers the person who will actually be carrying it out.
That means allowing for distractions, unexpected demands, changing energy, imperfect days and the fact that some tasks will take longer than expected.
Executive functioning isn't about creating the perfect system. It's about finding ways of working that are practical, flexible and useful in real life.
When getting started becomes a pattern of frustration
Difficulty getting started can become especially frustrating when it happens repeatedly.
You delay a task. You feel guilty about delaying it. The task becomes more urgent. The pressure increases. You finally begin when the deadline is close, perhaps wondering why you couldn't have done it sooner.
Over time, it can be tempting to turn this pattern into a judgement about yourself: I'm lazy. I'm unmotivated. I'm terrible at managing my time.
We encourage a different question:
What is getting in the way of starting?
That question doesn't remove responsibility. It creates an opportunity to understand the skill or barrier involved and try a different approach.
Sometimes the solution is a better starting point. Sometimes it's a more realistic plan. Sometimes it's reducing competing demands. And sometimes, particularly when these difficulties are persistent and interfere with everyday life, it can be helpful to explore them with a counsellor or another qualified professional.
Start with the next step, not the whole staircase
You don't need to solve the entire task before you begin.
Sometimes the most useful shift is simply moving from:
“How am I going to get all of this done?”
to:
“What is the next thing I can do?”
That small shift can make a task feel more concrete and give you somewhere to begin.
And once you understand that getting started is a skill, rather than simply a matter of willpower, you may have more options for figuring out what helps you get moving.
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The ideas shared in this post are intended for general educational, informational, and reflective purposes. Every person's circumstances are unique, and this content is not intended to replace individualized professional advice, psychotherapy, counselling, psychological assessment, medical care, or other professional services. Reading our blog does not establish a psychotherapist-client relationship with Erin House or Tracey Ropp.
If you are seeking individualized support, we encourage you to consult an appropriate qualified professional. If you live in Ontario and are interested in learning more about our independent psychotherapy practices, information about our services is available on our website.