If I’m truly stuck on a task—no matter how hard I try, my focus always slides off of it—I set a timer for 10 minutes. During those 10 minutes I give myself free licence to either work on that one task, or just sit in my chair. I often spend a few minutes noticing a variety of feelings. Eventually I often hit a thought like, “Well, I wish I could make progress on this, but I don’t really even know what to do. How would I even start?” or “I want to do so much more but I’m just exhausted; I’m at my limit” or “I’m not sure this task is even that useful.” That is generally the thought that gets me unstuck.
If I’m truly stuck on a task—no matter how hard I try, my focus always slides off of it—I set a timer for 10 minutes. During those 10 minutes I give myself free licence to either work on that one task, or just sit in my chair. I often spend a few minutes noticing a variety of feelings. Eventually I often hit a thought like, “Well, I wish I could make progress on this, but I don’t really even know what to do. How would I even start?” or “I want to do so much more but I’m just exhausted; I’m at my limit” or “I’m not sure this task is even that useful.” That is generally the thought that gets me unstuck.
Learning to delay acting on urges, e.g. to quit or distract yourself, is a really powerful skill that I think everyone should learn.
https://www.therapistaid.com/therapy-worksheet/urge-surfing-handout