When you cannot start: make a task small enough to begin

When a task keeps getting postponed, it is often not laziness. “Write proposal” is not one action; it is several unnamed decisions hiding inside a label.

Replace abstract verbs with visible moves:

• “Work on taxes” → “find last year’s return.”
• “Prepare presentation” → “open blank deck and write three slide headings.”
• “Call dentist” → “find dentist number and put it in dialer.”

The action should be concrete enough that another person could watch you do it. It does not need to finish the project. It only needs to cross the threshold from deciding to moving.

If even that step feels heavy, reduce it once more. Open the document. Put the materials on the desk. Write the first question.