Task Initiation: How to Get Started When You Just Don't Wanna

Task initiation is exactly what it sounds like—getting started on a task. Many of us find it easier to start some tasks than others. If you think over your to-do list, there are probably some things that feel like light lifts, and others that feel heavier, or inspire a horrible pit of dread in your stomach.

What I want to talk about today are ways to push yourself past that feeling of I-just-can’t-get-started, so you can get to work and make progress in the areas that feel important to you.

Timed Pairing with Pleasure

The first strategy is to pair the task with something pleasurable either before, during, or after the task. Dr. Catherine Mutti-Driscoll helpfully names these stages as “boost before,” “tweak during,” and “reward after.” The idea is to give your brain a little hit of dopamine before, during, or after the task, which will make it easier for you to do the task. I’ve listed some ideas for you in each category in the table below.

Boost Before	Tweak During	Reward After
Choose a pleasant environment to work in (e.g., hotel lobby, café) or make your environment more pleasant by lighting a candle or putting on soft acoustic music Treat yourself to your favorite coffee or tea	Work alongside someone who is also working Enjoy a snack or drink you like Work from the most comfortable place you can manage without falling asleep—e.g., under a cozy blanket on your couch	Go for a walk outside in the sun Put a sticker in your planner to mark the work session Call a friend Order takeout meal

One strategy that warrants special attention is the idea of working alongside someone else who is also working (although not necessarily on the same task). This strategy is known as “body doubling” in the executive function literature, and the idea is that working alongside someone focused on their tasks can inspire you to do the same.

Find Your On-Ramp

The second strategy to getting started when motivation is low is to shorten the “on-ramp” to successfully doing the activity. I first encountered this language reading How to Keep House While Drowning, K. C. Davis’s accessible guide to self-care for people with executive function challenges. If you doing the activity is like you driving a car that’s humming along the highway at 65 mph, then the on-ramp is whatever is going to lead you back into this activity (get you back on the highway) without friction or resistance. So, for example, if your desired goal is to write your dissertation for two hours a day, maybe the on-ramp is rereading sections you’ve already written for 15 minutes a day, until you feel like you can do more than that. Or maybe it’s opening up the last chapter you sent to your advisor, reading through their comments, and making notes on things you’re going to change. According to Davis, if you find that you are avoiding doing even your on-ramp, that’s a sign that you’ve set the bar too high (made the task too onerous) and you need to reduce it until you find a version of the task that your body and brain are willing to do. She gives the example of wanting to get back into the habit of riding her exercise bike daily—she initially set a goal of riding for five minutes per day, but when she found she was missing days, she lowered her time goal to three minutes a day. Her body didn’t put up any resistance over getting on the bike for only three minutes each day—and thus she had found her on-ramp!

Give Yourself a (Real) Deadline

The third strategy, give yourself a deadline, is not for the faint of heart. Giving yourself a deadline, especially when the deadline has real-world consequences and you’ve brought others into the fold and let them know about the deadline (hence, your reputation is on the line), can really light a fire under you and get you to focus when nothing else will. The classic academic example of acquiring a deadline is to apply to conferences where, if accepted, you will present on work you have yet to finish analyzing or writing up! Knowing that you need something to talk about, or display in a poster, provides ample pressure to start working. Another way to impose a deadline on yourself is to ask your advisor to give you firm deadlines, or come up with them yourself and commit in writing, via email, to providing work by a specific date. You can also do this in a less panic-inducing way by finding an accountability buddy in your program and committing to keeping each other on track to hit your goals by certain deadlines, the only caveat here is that you and your buddy can’t be too lenient with each other—it helps to pick someone whose opinion you care about and maybe even whom you’re a little bit afraid of!

I hope these ideas help you get started, especially if there’s something in your life you have been putting off. Remember the saying: Action is the antidote to anxiety. Once you’ve started— even just one minute, of that task you’ve been putting off—you’re back in the game, and that’s a win in my book.

 Image by David Barajas via Unsplash