Get good at transitioning
Once we make the shift, then doing the work itself, consistently and over time, will make us proficient at the work.
Which means that the skill we really need to develop — and it is a skill — is transitioning.
It’s often not more complicated — that’s just the story your mind tells you to encourage procrastination. The principle — and the solution — is the same: Get good at moving from comfort to discomfort.
Let’s apply this to that thing you’re having a hard time getting started on:
Identify something important to you that you want to move ahead with but have had a hard time getting traction on.
Identify the transition point to working on it. Examples of transition points are: Pick up the phone and dial (for a conversation); sit in a chair and write the first word (for any kind of writing); ask a question and then stop talking (for receiving feedback).
Make the decision — set a time and place where you will get started (transition).
Prime your emotional courage. Starting something hard will bring up feelings of discomfort and you will need to be prepared to feel things — what I call emotional courage — to move through it without stopping. Are you willing to stay in that feeling long enough to get to the other side? That’s a critical skill — and it is a developable skill — for getting traction on anything. Some of the things you may feel in the transition: discomfort, fear (will this ever end?), sabotage (I should probably check email), and insecurity (I can’t do this).
Follow through without questioning. You can’t control the noise your thinking makes, but you can keep moving through it to do what you need to do.
Repeat this every day.
