When it’s difficult to get started

Planning, Structure, and Deadlines

This happens to me quite regularly when I don’t have a strictly organized calendar. That means I don’t have regular lessons or clear tasks on my to-do list. When my whole day has clearly defined⏰ (=limited) activities — meaning I have in my calendar exactly what I need to do and from what time to what time, and ideally it’s also urgent (for example, I don’t have much time between lessons or I have so many activities that there’s no room for a break), I’m usually very efficient. In those moments, I don’t procrastinate, and at the end of the day I feel good about myself and feel good overall.

The Risks When There Are No Time Limits

But sometimes it happens that plans change — for example, someone cancels a lesson and then I suddenly have "time for myself." And that is often a risk that I won’t be productive, because I don’t have a strict plan prepared for my free time. In those situations, I often procrastinate, don’t do what I would like to do or what brings me joy, and at the end of the day I usually don’t feel good at all.

Fortunately, I already know what helps me in those situations, so I have a Plan B prepared for moments like that.

More Dopamine for Greater Productivity

The moment I feel that I have too little dopamine to start a new activity, either because I have relatively a lot of time for it or because it’s something bigger and I don’t know how to take the first step, it helps me to spend a little time doing something that “kickstarts” my brain🧠.

And what is that? In the morning after waking up, a cold shower🚿 or a run🏃 works really well for me. But later during the day, I usually don’t have that much motivation to go for a run or take a cold shower. That’s why I have my favorite YouTube channel ready — something I enjoy, that gives me interesting information because it’s educational, and it’s visually engaging too, so it gives me quick dopamine hits that then help me return to my normal daily and work activities. It’s like a brain reset.

In the past, I used to think that watching YouTube videos when I needed to work was something bad, and I felt guilty when I did it.

But often it meant that I simply couldn’t properly start what I wanted or what I needed to do, and overall it just made me frustrated.

Thanks to books about how the brain works and dopamine production🧠 that I’ve read, I now know that even a YouTube video can help us kickstart our brain into productivity and reduce procrastination during the day.

And that’s why now, when I have a dopamine crisis and can’t start a specific task, I know I have a pre-prepared list of interesting YouTube videos that I can prioritize in that moment — and afterward I’m much better prepared for the next tasks.

❓And what technique do you use when it’s hard for you to start something?

👉🏽 I’d love it if you wrote it below 👇 in the comments.

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