P: Just start doing, energy will come

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"Begin—to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished." — Marcus Aurelius

"80% of success is just showing up" — Woody Allen

“An object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted on by a net external force” — Newton’s First Law of Motion

“A good start is half the battle.” — Plato

I dramatically increased the number of things I get done when I implemented this rule: Stop philosophizing and just start doing.

Why?

Because energy and motivation will come after you start doing your target task.

Often to your surprise, once you get started, you will realize that the task is not nearly as taxing as you have anticipated. Similar to a train, what requires the most effort is to get it moving.

I realized this notion numerous times when I forced myself to do something I didn’t want to do. After an initial period of discomfort, I entirely forgot that just a couple of minutes ago I had zero motivation to do it. Before I knew it, half of the task had been done.

And it's not just my experience. Actually, there are psychological principles that help understand the mechanism behind this practice.

1. Goal gradient effect: Motivation increases as we get closer to the goal. Starting something automatically brings you closer to the finish line.

2. Zeigarnik effect: We tend to feel pressure to complete unfinished tasks. When you start, you metaphorically “open” a task that your mind will urge you to complete.

3. Law of inertia: An object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted on by a net external force. Starting makes it easier to keep going.

(There are probably more psychological principles but these are the most obvious ones that came to mind.)

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