A Simple Protocol for Getting Unstuck: Lower The Activation Energy

What to do if you can't start a project, write that email, feeling shame and guilt about stagnation, etc

The problem with procrastination is that we are so embarrassed of it that we kick it to the further corner of our awareness to forget about it.

However, most of us are painfully aware of everything we are so eager to forget.

To Get Unstuck:

1. Lower the activation energy barrier
2. Give yourself empathy.

WHY do we get stuck in the first place?

Our brains are both powerful and easy to trick.

If we delay making progress on something, our brain will create a Memo for itself, "This task is incredibly hard and requires a lot of energy".

Example: Throw a bunch of clothing on the floor in the room where they don't belong, and let them sit there for 2 weeks.

Then, see how easy it would be to clean them up.

It would be hard because here is what the brain took away from our delay:

"If we made no progress on this before, this might be too much to deal with. Let's postpone it a bit longer"

It is not true, but the brain believes it nonetheless.

It's like chemistry - for any reaction to happen, there needs to be activation energy to move something from one state to another.

More energy is needed to start the ball rolling than to keep it rolling.

Our brain knows that and, to preserve our limited energy, avoids tasks where ACTIVATION energy is needed.

PART 1: How to Lower the Activation Energy Barrier (in 3 Steps!)

1) Making a supa-dupa-tiny step (1-5 minute long max).

It is critical to keep it TINY for it to work. Our task is to identify any tiny task that makes the smallest amount of progress.

2) Semi-force yourself to celebrate it profoundly. Even if you don't feel like celebrating.

Positive emotions are fuel. They help us grow.

We need them at the beginning of a task to have energy to make progress.

3) Repeat for 5-7 days until you build momentum.

Train your brain to get used to your new image: you are a person who makes progress on things that matter to you.

Examples:

To declutter:

- set a timer for 2 minutes, and clean one area of your house for 2 minutes

- throw one thing into trash

- designate one bag to collect all things for Goodwill

To start a project (writing a book, making a course, etc):

- Decide where the space for this project would be, and prepare that space around it.

- Buy a notebook

- Write anything in it for 5 minutes. Or write 3 sentences.

To work out:

- Decide when you will work out

- Put your workout clothes where you sit it - dining table.

- Workout for 5 minutes (any YouTube video)

The MAIN task is not to force ourselves to do something. It is to find the first tiny step that

a. can be done in under 5 minutes and feels doable.

b. would feel like any progress.

c. intentionally keep it tiny

d. reward yourself profusely to "write" positive emotions

KEY: Don't try to conquer it one day. Purposefully keep it tiny.

If the part of your brain that is scared will tell you that this tiny step means nothing, and that you are a fraud who will never be able to achieve anything, tell it this:

I love you.

I am safe. You are safe. We are safe.

Tiny steps is an idea pioneered by people like BJ Fogg of Stanford University.

AND propagated by people like James Clear, whose book "Atomic Habits" sold 20 million copies and has 140,000 positive reviews on Amazon.

Because this idea is truthful: it is science-based and it worked for hundreds of thousands of people.

P.S. I will talk about "give yourself empathy part" in my next article.

What is important enough for you to commit to making a tiny first step?