Doing anything for the first time is hard.
Building a new habit is hard.
Accomplishing a big goal is hard.
It doesn’t help that our mind makes things more complicated.
More complicated than need be.
Often more complicated than it actually is.
Your mind can stack the deck against you.
If you let it.
After all, we are in control.
Whether we like to admit it or not.
We can make things easier for ourselves.
Increase our chances of success.
Our chances of actually doing something.
How?
By working with our mind.
Trying to achieve something big?
What is the smallest action you can take immediately?
Want to go for a run after work?
Prepare your outfit and shoes before starting your work.
Bonus: lay them in the room where you go after coming home.
No time for the things you want to do?
Don’t commit.
Pre-commit.
Pick a time once a week, think of the major goals you want to accomplish, the important tasks you can do that week to help you get there and schedule them ahead of time.
You’ve made a pre-commitment to yourself and your goals.
You’ve made a commitment to your future.
Taking your work home with you?
Take the last 10 minutes of your day and write out your (want-)to-do list for the next day.
Now that you’ve got it all on paper, take a look at it once more.
Is there anything that can be removed?
Anything that can be postponed?
Delegated?
Now you can close your notebook and get ready for some quality time at home.
Or you could take an additional 10~15 minutes to reflect.
To really finish off the workday.
What went well?
What didn’t go well?
Why didn’t it go well?
What could I have done better?
What can I do better tomorrow?
There are many more tips.
Tricks.
Hacks.
But they all center around the same core principles.
Start small.
Start simple.
Work your way up.
Prepare in advance.
Pre-commit.
Create a chain.
Visualize progress if needed.
Keep the chain going.
Reflect.
Learn.
Improve 1% every day.
But most importantly: take a step forward and keep it moving.
Everything else is just secondary.
A means to an end.
A means to a better you, though.