Yesterday, I posted about a simple time management trick I often use. Whatever tricks or tools you use, though, your mind can easily defeat.

Let's say you have a to do list of just three things (see yesterday's post on this), and there's one task left. It's not technically difficult, but for whatever reason you just don't feel like doing it right now. You know you should do it, but it's nearly lunchtime, you're hungry, and there's time to do it later.

Nothing terrible will happen if you don't do it now, but knowing that you should do it creates conflict. Just that little bit of internal stress that you'll carry around for the rest of the day. If this is your habit, that stress will only accumulate as the weeks, months and years go by.

There will be times when you face really tough problems, so if you find yourself avoiding even the easy stuff because you don't feel like doing it, how are you going to cope when something difficult comes along?

What if you did the opposite? What if, when you felt resistance, you took it as a signal that you need to go all in?

That thing you don't feel like doing, that's what you need to do.

Actions for today

• Think of something easy that you've been putting off because you don't feel like it
• Do it
• Think of something a bit harder you're putting off
• Do that, too
• Repeat daily

I'm writing this for myself as much as anyone else. I procrastinate, too, but I'm finding this mindset not only helpful in terms of productivity but happiness, too. In part this is because I'm not carrying around those incomplete tasks or un-started goals in my head (which frees up a lot of mental energy). There's great satisfaction in facing discomfort and it's the only way to find out what you're really capable of.