How to Trick Yourself Into Doing Things You Hate

For many people, inertia, laziness, fear, procrastination, self-doubt, endless debating and analyzing, second-guessing, “planning,” and self-sabotage are the default. But for those with an action bias, taking a step forward is the thing that happens automatically, to the extent that it takes effort not to act.

taking action is such a good idea and so easy to do, then why don’t we do it more often?

There are many answers to this question, but most of it comes down to anxiety. We feel like we don’t yet know enough to act, we’re afraid of the outcome, or we’re worried there’s a risk we haven’t prepared for. We feel we don’t have enough authority or clarity or ability to act.

Do something small now, see where it lands you

asking yourself about all the many reasons you can’t or shouldn’t act, focus instead on asking: What thing can I do right now? Counter-intuitively, this is often the lowest pressure, least anxiety-provoking state to be in.

The theme we will keep returning to is the necessity of cultivating whatever attitude we need to in order to consistently choose action over anything else. Not plan to take action, not think about future action, and not prepare for action . . . but simply act.

with effort, you can change, no matter where you’re starting from.

How different would your life look if you found a way to consistently remove laziness, fear, and disorganization?

We will discuss the virtues of going on an “information diet” in a later section, but it’s worth being alert to any bad habits that are keeping you distracted and addicted online. Mindless browsing distracts and demotivates you. Even if you do stumble on something of real value, you might just mindlessly scroll past it, completely unable to grasp the deeper meaning or retain its worth

In your own life right now, think of the task you are procrastinating and try to identify the nature of the anxiety behind it. Take note of the excuses you make for why you can’t act—they’ll give you a clue about your current mindset. Once you’ve identified this underlying fear, start considering some easy ways to begin shifting toward a bias for action instead.

Deliberately schedule the times you will spend planning, researching, etc., and times when you will be taking concrete, results-creating action. For example, block out 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. for writing but reserve the afternoon for planning, studying, or contemplating.