3-Part Strategy For Finally Doing A Task You've Been Putting Off

Here’s my 3-part strategy for finally doing a task you’ve been putting off for ages: pic.twitter.com/67yoeF5EkT

— Ali Abdaal (@AliAbdaal) March 27, 2023

1 - Make it your top priority.

When you feel averse to a specific task, literally anything else will feel really tempting (taking out the bins, writing an email to your friend, cooking a 3-course meal).

— Ali Abdaal (@AliAbdaal) March 27, 2023

So, ruthlessly prioritise the exact task you’re putting off.

The longer you let it wait, the more you’ll associate that task with stress and failure… making it even harder to start.

— Ali Abdaal (@AliAbdaal) March 27, 2023

2 - Put it in your calendar.

Choose a block of time (sooner rather than later) to do the work, and put it in your calendar.

— Ali Abdaal (@AliAbdaal) March 27, 2023

This won’t automatically get you to do the thing. But it’ll protect your time, and take away the “I just don’t have enough time” excuse.

Bonus point if you set up a notification for 30 minutes before the time.

— Ali Abdaal (@AliAbdaal) March 27, 2023

3 - Take the MVP approach.

The startup world has this concept of ‘minimum viable product’ i.e. what’s the most basic (yet functional) version of your product that you can create and test out?

— Ali Abdaal (@AliAbdaal) March 27, 2023

This lets you get real-world feedback faster, and stop being a perfectionist (it’s just a crappy first draft after all).

You also get momentum from actually doing something tangible.

Just aim to do the most basic version of the task you’re procrastinating on.

— Ali Abdaal (@AliAbdaal) March 27, 2023

This all boils down to one piece of advice: take the most direct route to your goal.

Sure you’ll mistakes. But that’ll accelerate your progress more than just tweaking your master plan and making no mistakes at all.

— Ali Abdaal (@AliAbdaal) March 27, 2023