there are times we are faced with work that we dread. responsibilities that are intimidating, tasks we find daunting or challenges in our face that are just downright unpleasant. for better or worse, this is the nature of any meaningful work. it is cyclical, and it will not always be flowers and sunshine.

in times like this, i've found it helpful to shift the perspective a bit. rather than focusing on task completion, we are better served by focusing on progress. progress is about taking that first step, getting the ball rolling, putting the wheels into motion, etc. the scope is almost irrelevant. there is a qualitative difference between bringing this work into the present tense vs. it waiting for us in the future.

the benefits of simply getting started are both tangible and psychological. tangibly, in the face of challenging work, the process of going from 0>1 is harder than going from 1>100. it's the experience of staring at a blank page of paper or canvas, and not knowing what you want to write or paint. psychologically, getting started helps us find out if the pain we perceived is real or not. whether this is truly a mountain of difficulty, or perhaps a molehill of discomfort. the truth reveals itself through the actions we take. and gives us a chance to learn.

alternatively, procrastination is a losing strategy. not only does it reduce the time available to us to do the work, but it piles on psychological burden on top of a shaky foundational psyche. inevitably, we are most miserable when we are procrastinating...and we know it. procrastination is a subtle form of self-harm that we need to protect ourselves against.

-- Waqas https://x.com/vixsheikh https://substack.com/@waqassheikh