Listen to the companion podcast episode.
Starting is the hardest part.
It doesn’t really matter what the task or goal is. That first step is often paralyzing. We start to second guess ourselves and doubt our capabilities. We procrastinate because we want things to be “just right” before we start. Which is, of course, a recipe for never starting at all.
So, today I wanted to share my Just Start Recipe with you. How to get started when you don’t know where to start.
Just Start Recipe
You will need:
- a pen and paper
- a healthy dose of focus
Follow these steps:
- choose one thing
- break that one thing down into the smallest possible steps
- take the first step
- take the next step
- keep on moving through the steps until you’re finished with that one thing
- repeat
It sounds simplistic, but most of the time, simple is better.
First, you have to decide what you want to do.
This means, you have to prioritize. You have to choose your one thing to focus on. Whether you’re writing out what you want to do tomorrow or mapping out the next five years. Whether you have to clean your house or you want to build a house. Picking one thing allows your brain to hyperfocus instead of being spread out or scattered over multiple things.
Grab a paper and pencil and write down all the things you want or need to do. There could be 100 things, but – after you’re done with the list – you’re going to choose just one of those things to focus on.
Next, you’re going to break that one thing down into the smallest possible action steps.
This step is all about building momentum. It doesn’t matter how small the steps are or how ridiculously easy they seem, that’s the point: making your first step so simple you can’t help but start.
Let’s take the cleaning the house example. If you chose that as your one thing, you could break it down into smaller action steps like this:
- Make a cleaning check list for each room of the house
- Gather your cleaning supplies
- Choose one room to start in
- Stage your cleaning supplies
- Get a drink and a snack so you’re hydrated and fueled
- Turn on some good music or a podcast
- Look at the first item on the check list for the room you’re in
- Just start
Here’s the biggest, hardest part: take the first step.
I don’t know about you, mama, but I have often let the need for everything to be perfect paralyze me. I make excuses about my abilities or my resources. I entertain doubts about my method or the results. You name it.
Perfectionism is another form of procrastination.
It will keep you locked up, frozen, unable to move forward in even the smallest things. Be willing to let the little stuff go. Be willing to get messy, to make mistakes, to have to go back to the drawing board.
I have a saying I repeat to myself: Don’t edit yourself out of action.
A few years ago I thought about starting a podcast. It seemed like a good fit, I had tons of content ideas, but then I decided to take a mini course on starting a podcast. Good grief. It was a ten-step process that sounded more complicated than earning a college degree.
Until I decided it didn’t have to be. I downloaded a free recording app. I literally had my iPhone and our master bedroom closet and my notepad. And I just started. No experience. No idea what I was doing.
This year I released Season 3 out into the world.
In other words: you don’t have to get everything perfect before you start. Just start.
Taking that first step can be scary, but every step after gets a little easier.
It’s all about building momentum. That’s why it pays to start small, to break your goal down into tiny, baby steps. Once you get the momentum going, you’ll be unstoppable. You will know the Just Start Recipe by heart and you will find yourself checking off your goals one by one.
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