On Instead of “I Have tO”, “I Choose tO”

So instead of “I have to”, “I choose to”, but only for 15 minutes, and reasons/bigger picture

Don’t worry about finishing, think about “when can I start?”. Finishing is off in the distance somewhere, with more knowledge, expertise, confidence

Ditch “this project is so big and important/this is my one big chance”. Gets you thinking about all the things that could go wrong, increases anxiety. Replace with “I can take one small step/I can start for 15 minutes”. One rough draft (or part of one), one imperfect sketch, one small hello. Something small I can accomplish now. These add up, let me know what it is I’m doing, give me focus on the longer term thing, anD REVEAL THE NEXT STEP!

Lose “must be perfect”. Procrastinate to buffer against failure/criticism, compares small steps to some ideal outcome. Afraid of what the real outcome/product will look like. Stops preparation for failure. Replace with “I can be perfectly human”. Accept mistakes, they’re just feedback, part of learning. Stops me doing work, awkward first steps lead to being better.

Deliberately do something fast/badly/inadequately for 15/30 minutes. 2 stages-starting/intuition/creativity is separate from the second stage of polishing and editing.

“I don’t have time to play, must suffer”. Feeling of a life of obligations demands. Insisting on breaks, socialising, fun stuff lessens dread of work, leaves me wanting to get back to work, increases how much fun I get from the fun stuff.

“I have to finish something big/important, do it perfectly while working hard with no time to play” “I choose to start on one small step knowing I have plenty of time for play. I am choosing to start, rather than having to finish on one small step that I will do humanly (like doesn’t have to be perfect). Don’t procrastinate on living

Spot the old pattern happening, use the switch to change the behaviour. This will just become habit, get stronger connections.

Progression through unlearning.