The Next Three Things

Ever have one of those days when procrastination has you clutched in its grip, toying with your soul like a cat who caught a chipmunk?

Procrastination is also Resistance with a capital R. In his book, The War of Art, Stephen Pressfield says, “Resistance by definition is self-sabotage.”

He also says, “The most pernicious aspect of procrastination is that it can become a habit.”

When I face Resistance, I have a trick. It’s called The Next 3 Things. I write down three simple tasks that I can do next. These can be amazingly simple things like, “make the bed,” “write 1 email,” or “write for five minutes.”

It’s important to keep them simple and no more than 3 things—just the next things to keep you going. To give you momentum—any momentum at all.

A long to-do list becomes incredibly overwhelming and feeds into Resistance.  I’m guilty of thinking I can do 20 things in a day and everything will be wonderful, but that often leads to a feeling of failure and inadequacy when I inevitably can’t hit that perfectionist goal I set forth.

So, just three things. Do them. Then write three more. Before you know it, you’ll have beaten the beast that is Resistance.