Why does it sometimes take you a long time to do important things?

[Fox]

Guys this isn't a thread on Stalin. Let's keep it on topic.

 

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[Fox]

Rob, are you taking too long because you're not starting soon enough (procastinating), or you're doing things that aren't needed, or you're slow at doing tasks, or ...?

Are you doing too many things? (I'm super guilty of this.)

Thanks Andy for reaching out privately too.

I had some hard conversations with myself after MTF's post and I think it is comfort level.

When I started this journey I had next to nothing and was motivated by a certain standard of living.
I wanted X results and I keep taking big action till I was there.

I feel I reached that point over the last few years and it has been hard to go further. Instead of making new deeper goals I just made the original goals bigger - better apartment, even more travel etc.

It worked for a while but it has now fully maxed out. It seems obvious now typing this out but I just never stopped too much to think about it. I was/am living well and I never had much of a plan past getting out of a rough set up.

If I want to stay progressing though (which I do) then I have to raise the vision to a much higher level and my standards with it. I think there is still a part of my brain stuck at the level of wealth I grew up in and I just got to find real meaningful reasons to move past that.

It is tough to type all of this but the help here has been great. There are plenty of people on here with such great results and I feel to not give things my best effort would be the biggest failure of all.

Just to be clear too it is not like I am sitting around doing nothing - a lot of progress has still been made this year - I just still feel it could have been more and I am letting a lot of potential slip by.

Thanks everyone.

 

[MTF]

If I want to stay progressing though (which I do) then I have to raise the vision to a much higher level and my standards with it. I think there is still a part of my brain stuck at the level of wealth I grew up in and I just got to find real meaningful reasons to move past that.

Note that it doesn't necessarily have to be more and more money. It could be, if that's what you really want, but it can be also upping your game in any other area.

For example, in addition to making more money, I want to become a much better writer. I know I'm still a LONG, LONG way from some of the best writers. So I need to write more and experiment more with my craft. I need to filter out what makes it hard for me to become a better writer (like unimportant business tasks).

In a completely unrelated area, I'd like to get a better handle of my mental health. This also requires some kind of work, and preferably today and not tomorrow when it may be much tougher to deal with it.

It's all interconnected. If you can't find self-discipline to work on your business when it's at a satisfying level, you might eventually hit the same level of complacency in other areas. Sometimes it might not be enough (for example "good enough" relationships where both partners don't want to continuously improve the relationship can fail).

 

[Andy Black]

Rob... maybe this might interest you.

It’s not about more, it’s about getting closer to the life you want to live:

View: https://youtu.be/Iuv5q304wdU

Have you written down what life you want to lead? If not then maybe check this one out:

View: https://youtu.be/il7_TVUGRAc

 

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[mguerra]

Tough love warning... Not to be a hater, just to offer an unfiltered perspective. A little bit rant-ish but hope it's useful.

I think that it comes down to a sense of urgency. I can't stand wasting time. I know that if I don't start doing something today, I might not do it tomorrow, in two days, or even in a week. Then you look back and realize you wanted to achieve something by today but kept putting it off for the last few weeks, months, or years. I absolutely hate this feeling.

I hate it so much because essentially, you're wasting your life. And you never know how much life left you have. If you don't have that sense of urgency to act today, to me it feels exactly the same as burning cash, only you're burning time you can't EVER get back.

For example, I recently started writing a new book. I set a tentative goal to finish the first rough draft by this Friday. It makes little difference if I finish by Friday or later. By itself, it won't change my life. But it sets a precedent that it's okay to put things off because I'm already well off. It also makes me complacent and that poses a direct danger to my long-term results.

Which leads me to having the right motivation.

Firstly, my performance sucks if I'm working on something not aligned with my strengths and preferences. This is why I decided to shut down, at a great expense, my new business, and go back 100% to writing which gives me most joy. The act of writing in itself makes me feel great so it's not hard to just start writing now.

What makes you feel great in your work? What drains you? Why are you still doing the latter and not focusing more on the former? You have the resources; it's just a case of optimization.

Secondly, do you have any powerful, inspirational long-term goals? In my case, I want to have enough money to afford a rural property in a warm climate. Each time I'm cold (and I HATE cold weather) or feel otherwise displeased by where I live, I get another jolt of motivation to keep working, and keep working TODAY, not tomorrow. Each day I'm not taking action is one more day of waiting to get what I want. And remember, we might not have as much time as we think.

My previous biggest motivation was to make enough money to build a house for my parents. I had an extreme sense of urgency because I wanted them to have a happy, peaceful retirement in the countryside. I don't think I'd ever be able to forgive myself if I didn't give it my all to make this dream a reality as soon as possible while they're still healthy and relatively young to enjoy it. It's my sense of urgency that made it happen. I'm reminded of this every day as I see them living in and enjoying a place that's just perfect for them.

Also, in general terms regardless of other goals, I don't want to be poor ever again in my life. I don't want to worry about money ever again in my life. I don't want to ever have to rely on someone else to make money (aka have a job). A little bit of this fear helps maintain the hustler's mindset. Though I need to emphasize that today it is harder for me to hustle than it was a few years ago when I was very, very hungry for success. But I still have a sense of urgency fueled by all the other things I mentioned before.

Clearly, you don't have the same sense of urgency I have. This part makes it clear:



Based on our collaboration so far, this isn't the case of getting it done now or a "little" later. A little later usually turned into a few days, if not more. So, this isn't just an innocent habit of doing something a few hours later.

I've also noticed that sometimes I requested from you something that took maybe 5-10 minutes to check. But you told me you'd check it the next day or on Monday.

I don't operate like that. Yesterday I was falling asleep, checking Messenger on my phone for the last time, when you gave me the green light to continue with one of the tasks. So I got up to turn on my laptop and email one of my contractors to continue the work.

I could have decided to fall asleep but we'd waste 8 hours. It cost me 2 minutes to avoid wasting 8 hours. I'd feel bad with myself if I didn't act instantly. And it would be disrespectful toward you as well. Of course, there needs to be some balance and time off so that we don't go crazy working all the time. I'm not dropping everything when I'm, say, hiking. But if I'm home, not doing anything important, and can act now on a task that takes a couple of minutes, why act later?

As for what you think makes me work fast:

• He has clear rewards for getting work done quickly - actually, the work in itself is often the reward. Particularly writing. I love filling pages with words. I procrastinated more on the other business that didn't rely on this unique ability.
• He has a great habit of just getting right into stuff and making sure it's done - true. This goes back to the sense of urgency, motivations, and fears.
• He focuses on only what matters most and really is good at cutting out what doesn't. Also true. I find a lot of peace in an empty calendar as I described in one of my recent posts on my blog (Finding Peace in an Empty Calendar | Think 80/20 if anyone's interested). The only tasks I want to have are the tasks I love doing that I do well.

Damn... that was a truly inspiring response!

I'm printing this fragment and putting on my desk:

I could have decided to fall asleep but we'd waste 8 hours. It cost me 2 minutes to avoid wasting 8 hours. I'd feel bad with myself if I didn't act instantly. And it would be disrespectful toward you as well.

@MTF you are a TRUE hustler, sir.

Thanks for the inspiration, my man. Maximum respect.

 

[kleine2]

I know this question seems quite simple but I have struggled with this a lot this year...

- You got something very important that needs to be done
- You want to get it done
- Weeks/months go by and it is still there

You don't feel any particular reason you can't do it, you are doing your best to stay focused, you mean to get it done.
Yet it never gets fully done.

Usually I see this problem the most in people between 100k and a million.
They have already made a lot of progress but they can't quite get fully firing and hit that next level.
Usually when you dig into why it is just a few key things that they haven't yet done but they have been stuck on for a long time.

Maybe there isn't enough details here to get a good answer but I would be curious to see people's thoughts/advice on this topic.

Let me know if I should post some specific examples.

@MJ DeMarco would love your insight in this if possible.

Make a decision. Think about letting go of it for real. Then you either see that you don't really want it or you go all in and fully embrace it. But force a conscious decision.

 

[Fox]

Had a few important things come up since @MTF made that post...

Old internal self dialogue: "Lets make time to think that over tomorrow"

New me: "Let's get that in motion right now..."

@ZCP taught me a lot about this at the summit but I guess I fell back into some bad habits.

Thanks guys and everyone else who posted.

 

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[Andy Black]

Had a few important things come up since @MTF made that post...

Old me: "Lets make time to think that over tomorrow"

New me: "Let's get that in motion right now..."

@ZCP taught me a lot about this at the summit but I guess I fell back into some bad habits.

Thanks guys and everyone else who posted.

I think it depends on whether it’s for your own business or for clients.

 

[Fox]

I think it depends on whether it’s for your own business or for clients.

Ya very true. My mistake - I made it sound like a conversation with someone else.
This was more in reference to my own internal thinking.

I am just moving faster with choices and actions.

 

[mguerra]

Had a few important things come up since @MTF made that post...

Old me: "Lets make time to think that over tomorrow"

New me: "Let's get that in motion right now..."

@ZCP taught me a lot about this at the summit but I guess I fell back into some bad habits.

Thanks guys and everyone else who posted.

Man... I'm so glad to be back to this forum!

Interacting with you guys and absorbing all the lessons and mindsets spilled here is valuable beyond measure to me.

It really brings joy to my heart to witness that kind of posture after a session of tough love / constructive criticism. That's definetely not easy to see nowadays.

Thanks @Fox for the humility to share your weakness open here and turn this thread into a golden asset to us all. That's the spirit, brother!

Much respect to you too, champ.

Now lets crush it!

 

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[Fox]

Man... I'm so glad to be back to this forum!

Interacting with you guys and absorbing all the lessons and mindsets spilled here is valuable beyond measure to me.

It really brings joy to my heart to witness that kind of posture after a session of tough love / constructive criticism. That's definetely not easy to see nowadays.

Thanks @Fox for the humility to share your weakness open here and turn this thread into a golden asset to us all. That's the spirit, brother!

Much respect to you too, champ.

Now lets crush it!

Thanks!

I am more than happy to past down what I've learned so far but I am far from the level of the top people on here.
There is still a lot for me to figure out with a lot of things.

This year has been a great year to "stress test" things and see where the gaps are.

2021 will be a great year for working on these and moving forward.

 

[Andy Black]

Here's something I learned and wrote about somewhere:

There’s a part of you that fears change. Let’s call it your Lizard Brain.

It’s dumber than you because it wants to keep the status quo, even if it’s not the best in the long-term.

It’s smarter than you because it knows what will change the status quo.

When you have the sudden urge to do something else then see that as a message from your Lizard Brain that what you were about to do will make a difference to your future - hence its desperate attempts to distract you.

Smile to yourself and thank your Lizard Brain for letting you know it’s an important task. Then knuckle down.

 

[ZCP]

@ZCP taught me a lot about this at the summit but I guess I fell back into some bad habits.

Your plateau is higher now @Fox . What feels like a lull or pullback is actually you further than you used to be. You have gotten a hell of a lot stronger. Love fest over though, it's time for you to take it up a notch.

 

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[Andy Black]

More practical tips I regularly think about are:

1) Does it *really* need to be done? (We often do NOT need to do the things we assume we do.)

2) If you’re not using your super-power(s) then you’ll never be fully productive. When you use your super-power it’s like hitting the slip-stream - you go faster, effortlessly.

3) And one I love: "Start as close to the end as possible."

4) It’s not a time management issue, it’s a prioritisation issue. Filter through the 4 Ds: Dump it. Delegate it. Defer it. Do it.

 

[mguerra]

Here's something I learned and wrote about somewhere:

There’s a part of you that fears change. Let’s call it your Lizard Brain.

It’s dumber than you because it wants to keep the status quo, even if it’s not the best in the long-term.

It’s smarter than you because it knows what will change the status quo.

When you have the sudden urge to do something else then see that as a message from your Lizard Brain that what you were about to do will make a difference to your future - hence the desperate attempts to distract you.

Smile to yourself and thank your Lizard Brain for letting you know it’s an important task. Then knuckle down.

That's a nice thought process to have.

When you're avoiding something that you should be doing it's because that thing is probably what will be changing your life for the better if you do it.

Reminds me of a (maybe) well-known phrase:

"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek"

 

[Midnight Green]

Despite some valuable answers being given already (damn @MTF, I love your straightforwardness), I'll chip in with my thoughts because procrastination is something I've struggled with dreadfully. This is not necessarily aimed at you personally @Fox, but thank you for bringing up the issue and being open about it.

1. Fear: it's natural to be risk-averse. Upsides of risks can only give you so much, but downsides might end you. You could die. It makes biological sense to be risk averse, but that doesn't mean aversion to all risks is rational. Write down what risks are involved in the activity you're avoiding, then write down your emotions - honestly.

2: Valuation of time. MJ explains rich people see time as a scarce resource. It is - and I'm sure you know this, but can you act it out? There's this book called The 12-week year which presents the idea of living in years that consist of 12 weeks rather than 52. 365 days is too much time for us to internalize. It is easy to procrastinate if you look at your life in increments of years, because time feels plentiful. What is one day out of 365 anyway?

3: Does the problem hurt badly enough? Another idea straight from MJ's books. I'm sure anyone on this forum is familiar with the example of the dog laying on a nail but refusing to get up, because it does not hurt badly enough.
My own addition is this: people tend to put up with extended suffering to avoid spikes of pain. The obvious example is ripping off a bandage, but this concept can be applied to almost anything challenging/painful.
I like to ask myself the question: what dumb and unnecessary suffering am I putting up with just so I can avoid dealing with a shorter burst of pain?

4: Embrace the value. Advice I gave to a young friend of mine is to do anything he's been postponing no matter how small, then write down how he feels about having done so. Better yet, when you struggle to get to work, try to remember similar situations where you made the 'correct' choice (by your own definition) and recall how that made you feel. This is the 'Cookie Jar' from David Goggins. In his book he explains how he overcame immense struggles such as Hell Week in the Navy Seals and running an ultramarathon without training. He used the Cookie Jar concept: by actively recalling successes he had already achieved, he managed to keep going during times when the challenge seemed insurmountable.

5: If nothing works, try Dopamine Detox. This might sound like a fad to some, especially those who haven't tried it or who don't need it, but for me it works. You don't have to book a remote cottage in Sweden right away. Simply grab a journal and pen and set out some time where you do nothing. No cleaning your room, no reading books, no internet. All you're allowed to do is write or work on the task you've been avoiding. If you catch yourself slipping, don't get frustrated. Just stop and readjust. To those who practice meditation this might sound familiar.

 

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[James Klymus]

A lot of good insight here.

From my personal experience, when I find my self procrastinating it comes down to 2 things; I genuinely don't want to do it, and lack of urgency.

For example, I recently enrolled in Barber School. I made that decision in a matter of days, I actually WANTED to do that, and was excited to get started, so that also created urgency.

In years past, I wanted to start a marketing agency. I always told my self "tomorrow's the day", and I found my self procrastinating. I would come here to procrastinate, read books, take marketing courses and so on. But I never really made meaningful progress. This cycle went on literally for years.

Looking back, I chalk it up to 2 major things: Lack of urgency and lack of want. I had an OK job that paid the bills, so there was no urgency to do what it took, and I didn't feel like I actually wanted to start an agency.

If it's a tough thing like starting a business, or in my case going to barber school, then you have to be so excited about the goal, that you're willing to do the hard work and go through the discomfort.

I've found in my life that if I actually WANT something, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get it. If I "want" it, then I'm not actually willing to do the work to get it. In my case, going back to school will require a ton of my time and I'll be making less money for about a year (Unless i get creative). But I'm excited to do it, So I just did it, without any procrastination.

Just to clarify, you won't WANT to do everything it takes to get to your goals. It's up to you to really think about wether you want this for sure, and like I said, the hard stuff becomes "easy" to do.

 

[tsouri]

Tasks and reminders
That helps also

 

[tsouri]

This might be a reason for some people..

There are many triggers that connected to that. We depends primarily on our self-control and Our self-control always receives signals from our motivation. In many situations we are experiencing certain demotivating factors, which have an opposite effect of motivation. like anxiety or fear of failure. When demotivating and hindering factors are effecting our self-control and motivation, we end up procrastinating, either indefinitely, or until we reach a point in time when the balance between them shifts in our favor.

 

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[MTF]

@Fox, wanted to add something based on my experience this morning. It shows my thought process that might not be as common as I think but which is a big contributor to my sense of urgency.

Just to make it clear, the following is NOT about complaining for the sake of complaining or not being grateful for what I have. It just shows how I think. A little bit rantish again but this better shows my thought process.

For the last few days I was waiting for good surf conditions. The forecast finally showed that it would be nice today. So I put on my wetsuit at home, grabbed my board, and left in the early morning while it was still dark to get there with the first light when it's quiet. I was cold the entire way there. It felt weird to drive with my movements constricted.

I got there, got out of the car, and f*** man it was cold, with strong wind making it even worse. That's why I put the wetsuit on at home; to avoid changing outside. If I didn't tell you yet, out of all the regular basic emotions I experience, I hate being cold the most. I'm fine being hungry, thirsty, or hot. But just thinking about being cold already makes me angry lol.

Anyway, I got out of the car, grabbed my board, waxed it and headed to the beach. It's a wide beach so it takes a few minutes to get to the water. I was cold all the way there. I warmed up and still felt cold. I was starting to get worried I would be cold all the time while surfing.

I got in the water, slowly got used to the temperature and started paddling. The ocean was rough, not as clean as I expected it to be based on the forecast. It was high tide so I had to paddle far to get to where the waves were breaking. Because of the thick wetsuit, my arms were already tired by the time I got there.

It was the first time I surfed here at high tide so I miscalculated my take-off point. And badly. I chose a wave that was too big and too steep for a longboard. It felt like falling off a 3-story building straight onto my face. In colder water, the washing machine experience is much worse because you quickly lose your breath. Well, stuff happens. But then it got even worse, with the waves getting even messier and most closing out aggressively.

I got out of the water after another set of big close-out waves. I waited for a few minutes, hoping the conditions would improve but they got even worse. Soon, there were no surfable waves at all. And I was cold again.

It was a shitty surf experience, to say the least. All the hassle for 30 minutes of trashing around. But it only boosted my sense of urgency.

As I was walking back to the car, I was so frustrated with the experience for a few reasons:

• I hate being cold. I can't explain how much it annoys me. I'm obsessed about it because it has an immense impact of how I feel. Being cold is the most unnatural state for me. My body is tight and I feel tense. In contrast, in warm, tropical weather I'm loose, energetic, laid-back and happy. I'm a different person - the "real" me that's hidden under several layers in cold weather.
• I hate wetsuits. I hate putting it on. I hate its feel on my body. I hate its smell. I hate how it constricts my movements in water and makes paddling so hard. I hate how disconnected from the ocean it makes me feel compared to bare skin. I hate how hard it is to take it off when it's wet. I hate all the hassle with washing it, drying it, etc. In the tropics, surfing was so natural. Just boardshorts and a rashguard. I get giddy just thinking about how nice it was to just sit on the board in balmy, turquoise water. Each time I put on a wetsuit, I feel motivated to get to work so that I don't have to put it on ever again in my life.
• I hate not having access to good conditions. Okay, Barbados wasn't always world-class and there were mediocre days, too. But bad conditions in cold water and weather are much worse than bad conditions in warm water. This doesn't apply just to surfing. I'm just not good at tolerating something that's obviously subpar. I'm not a guy who makes jokes and shrugs when there's shitty weather for weeks on end. Or when the local natural environment is polluted. Or when the place where you live is so boring that you can only stay at home and watch TV shows. Or whatever. I instantly think: "Why accept such low standards? How can you just laugh it off?"

Note that this is for southern Spain where it's roughly 12 degrees in the morning now and the water is about 19 degrees Celsius. Now imagine how much more it sucks for me when I go surfing in Poland. How disgusted I am by myself that I'm still doing this to myself, suffering from cold, cloudy weather, in an environment so different from where I'd like to be.

All the above makes me even more fired up to work. I can't stand the thought of tolerating this BS for the rest of my life. I NEED to get away from it and find a place where I can be the real me. Where I don't feel like I'm settling for mediocrity. Where there's at least one thing that gives you that feeling that it's world-class (like perfect weather or beautiful beaches or whatever) and not just a feeling of "well, better than nothing."

I'm driven a lot by dissatisfaction.

The results of my work will allow me to pick whatever place I enjoy most and live there without worrying about money. Each day I fail to work is another day I have to endure this BS.

Again, it doesn't mean you have to feel completely miserable. I appreciate I can surf at all. It's still pretty fun with the right conditions. It also doesn't mean you have to complain and do nothing about it. As a solution, from now now, I'll go surfing later in the day to avoid the lowest temperatures and make it a little more tolerable.

But in the meantime, I'll work like crazy to create the life I want to live.

 

[Lyinx]

Tough love warning... Not to be a hater, just to offer an unfiltered perspective. A little bit rant-ish but hope it's useful.

I think that it comes down to a sense of urgency. I can't stand wasting time. I know that if I don't start doing something today, I might not do it tomorrow, in two days, or even in a week. Then you look back and realize you wanted to achieve something by today but kept putting it off for the last few weeks, months, or years. I absolutely hate this feeling.

I hate it so much because essentially, you're wasting your life. And you never know how much life left you have. If you don't have that sense of urgency to act today, to me it feels exactly the same as burning cash, only you're burning time you can't EVER get back.

For example, I recently started writing a new book. I set a tentative goal to finish the first rough draft by this Friday. It makes little difference if I finish by Friday or later. By itself, it won't change my life. But it sets a precedent that it's okay to put things off because I'm already well off. It also makes me complacent and that poses a direct danger to my long-term results.

Which leads me to having the right motivation.

Firstly, my performance sucks if I'm working on something not aligned with my strengths and preferences. This is why I decided to shut down, at a great expense, my new business, and go back 100% to writing which gives me most joy. The act of writing in itself makes me feel great so it's not hard to just start writing now.

What makes you feel great in your work? What drains you? Why are you still doing the latter and not focusing more on the former? You have the resources; it's just a case of optimization.

Secondly, do you have any powerful, inspirational long-term goals? In my case, I want to have enough money to afford a rural property in a warm climate. Each time I'm cold (and I HATE cold weather) or feel otherwise displeased by where I live, I get another jolt of motivation to keep working, and keep working TODAY, not tomorrow. Each day I'm not taking action is one more day of waiting to get what I want. And remember, we might not have as much time as we think.

My previous biggest motivation was to make enough money to build a house for my parents. I had an extreme sense of urgency because I wanted them to have a happy, peaceful retirement in the countryside. I don't think I'd ever be able to forgive myself if I didn't give it my all to make this dream a reality as soon as possible while they're still healthy and relatively young to enjoy it. It's my sense of urgency that made it happen. I'm reminded of this every day as I see them living in and enjoying a place that's just perfect for them.

Also, in general terms regardless of other goals, I don't want to be poor ever again in my life. I don't want to worry about money ever again in my life. I don't want to ever have to rely on someone else to make money (aka have a job). A little bit of this fear helps maintain the hustler's mindset. Though I need to emphasize that today it is harder for me to hustle than it was a few years ago when I was very, very hungry for success. But I still have a sense of urgency fueled by all the other things I mentioned before.

Clearly, you don't have the same sense of urgency I have. This part makes it clear:



Based on our collaboration so far, this isn't the case of getting it done now or a "little" later. A little later usually turned into a few days, if not more. So, this isn't just an innocent habit of doing something a few hours later.

I've also noticed that sometimes I requested from you something that took maybe 5-10 minutes to check. But you told me you'd check it the next day or on Monday.

I don't operate like that. Yesterday I was falling asleep, checking Messenger on my phone for the last time, when you gave me the green light to continue with one of the tasks. So I got up to turn on my laptop and email one of my contractors to continue the work.

I could have decided to fall asleep but we'd waste 8 hours. It cost me 2 minutes to avoid wasting 8 hours. I'd feel bad with myself if I didn't act instantly. And it would be disrespectful toward you as well. Of course, there needs to be some balance and time off so that we don't go crazy working all the time. I'm not dropping everything when I'm, say, hiking. But if I'm home, not doing anything important, and can act now on a task that takes a couple of minutes, why act later?

As for what you think makes me work fast:

• He has clear rewards for getting work done quickly - actually, the work in itself is often the reward. Particularly writing. I love filling pages with words. I procrastinated more on the other business that didn't rely on this unique ability.
• He has a great habit of just getting right into stuff and making sure it's done - true. This goes back to the sense of urgency, motivations, and fears.
• He focuses on only what matters most and really is good at cutting out what doesn't. Also true. I find a lot of peace in an empty calendar as I described in one of my recent posts on my blog (Finding Peace in an Empty Calendar | Think 80/20 if anyone's interested). The only tasks I want to have are the tasks I love doing that I do well.

I believe you would love lean thinking (not to be confused with lean mfging, although it goes back to the same roots)
Basically, what can we do to get product into our customers hands faster?
and,
fix whatever bugs you (you have to watch some videos to understand it, but boy, does it make sense!
look up fast cap and paul akers on youtube, he provides top level insights

 

[Erez Elya]

I know this question seems quite simple but I have struggled with this a lot this year...

- You got something very important that needs to be done
- You want to get it done
- Weeks/months go by and it is still there

You don't feel any particular reason you can't do it, you are doing your best to stay focused, you mean to get it done.
Yet it never gets fully done.

Usually I see this problem the most in people between 100k and a million.
They have already made a lot of progress but they can't quite get fully firing and hit that next level.
Usually when you dig into why it is just a few key things that they haven't yet done but they have been stuck on for a long time.

Maybe there isn't enough details here to get a good answer but I would be curious to see people's thoughts/advice on this topic.

Let me know if I should post some specific examples.

@MJ DeMarco would love your insight in this if possible.

Good topic.
I think you have many reasons why it happend, from unrecognize fears to not knowing exectly what to do.
Basicly, every new thing or territory have some fear attach to it.

A good startegy to handle it, is to start with very very small steps long before you have to finish the task.
It may look stopid at first, but even open and save a file in the computer, is a beggining. And it give you energy for the next very small step tommorow, and like that you gradualy build momentom.

 

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[Kal-El1998]

Personally, sometimes it's because there is no clear goal in place. If there is something I can reach, feel, or taste...it helps keep me motivated to be done. Sometimes its a soda, sometimes it's a car. I know my goal by the end of the next year is to pay cash for a newer camaro / corvette. My small daily goals in between might be things like food or treating myself to my favorite soda.