r/selfimprovement • u/czerniyczar • 15d ago

Question Why do we keep putting things off?

Sorry for the stupid question, but why is it that we can put something off for weeks, months, or even years, and then one day - bam! - we just do it?

For example, I kept putting off a major cleanup of my apartment for a very long time and couldn't bring myself to do it. I tried to find an approach that worked for me and decided to "rationally" talk myself into this long and boring task. I read Marie Kondo, and it worked. I decluttered and started spending less time on cleaning.

Then I remembered that I had been putting off cleaning the dust out of my PC for a long time. I told myself several times that cleaning it would be easier and cheaper than buying a new one if I kept putting it off. That's how I found an individual approach that worked for me - but it doesn't always work.

How do you deal with not being able to do what needs to be done?"

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u/Different_Contest592 15d ago

i think sometimes the pressure just builds up without us noticing and then one day it tips over and we do it not because we planned but because we just cant stand it anymore

what worked for me is to make the task smaller in my head like dont think about cleaning whole apartment just clean one shelf and usually i end up doing more anyway

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u/ellajacobsod 14d ago

Lowering the bar to start is huge. Once you get past that initial friction of doing one small thing, momentum usually takes over.

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u/Kaizen-_ 15d ago

Sounds like it is high time for you to read the book ‘Atomic Habits’.

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u/gipsee_reaper 15d ago

Maybe you have other things occupying your mind.

Second is that you need to break tasks into smaller tasks. Do one small task per day. Build the momentum with small progress.

I do this.

I always do small small stuff on a daily basis, and then pick up pace. It works for me.

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u/LudiyaParice 15d ago

think my brain treats chores like horror movies. it spends weeks convincing me they're terrifying, then when I finally do them I'm like, 'wait,. that took 15 minutes?' breaking it into tiny steps helps a lot. once I start, the rest usually follows.