18 days ago
33
9
Posted On: October 16th 2026, 10:46 am
I’m not so good at beginnings.
Part of it is wanting to hold onto the moment before something starts, when it could still become anything.
The other part is that I find task initiation. spectacularly hard.
I wrote about it and how I trick my brain in my last Substack post (link in bio) but here’s the TL;DR.
Start Small
Sometimes the best way to start is to make the beginning smaller.
Body-doubling
Most of the time I don’t need someone to help me. I just need another person to exist nearby while I work.
Walking
The simple act of crossing the midline is like magic for helping the two sides of your brain talk to each other.
Deadlines
… a fake deadline. I do this all the time. The key thing is accountability.
Immersing
It’s very much me approaching my brain sideways so as not to spook it. This is where I pretend I’m not starting.
Working In Public
There’s a strange amount of peer pressure involved in being surrounded by strangers getting on with their own business.
Bribery
Sometimes the solution is simply bribery. I’m not above this…
Read the full post on my substack, Meanwhile Cat, and please subscribe (link in bio).
Part of it is wanting to hold onto the moment before something starts, when it could still become anything.
The other part is that I find task initiation. spectacularly hard.
I wrote about it and how I trick my brain in my last Substack post (link in bio) but here’s the TL;DR.
Start Small
Sometimes the best way to start is to make the beginning smaller.
Body-doubling
Most of the time I don’t need someone to help me. I just need another person to exist nearby while I work.
Walking
The simple act of crossing the midline is like magic for helping the two sides of your brain talk to each other.
Deadlines
… a fake deadline. I do this all the time. The key thing is accountability.
Immersing
It’s very much me approaching my brain sideways so as not to spook it. This is where I pretend I’m not starting.
Working In Public
There’s a strange amount of peer pressure involved in being surrounded by strangers getting on with their own business.
Bribery
Sometimes the solution is simply bribery. I’m not above this…
Read the full post on my substack, Meanwhile Cat, and please subscribe (link in bio).
Comments (9)
18 days agoforteymary
Love it. Would it work for housework? Oh, well done if you have the will power to keep that caramel bar there until you reach your target x
18 days agosarahundart
I have this problem. I get overwhelmed by too many tasks. Definitely find breaking them down helps and small wins. But once I’m locked in, I’m an unstoppable machine.
18 days agobecauseisaidsew
Hard relate. My favourite trick when I can’t quite get started on a sewing project is to just hang out in my room, tidying a few things, petting fabric or flicking through patterns. It often leads to actually starting something. Now I just need a way to transfer that to my actual job…
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