Part of a series about the secret questions we ask ourselves, often without saying them out loud.
Why can’t I just get on with it?
You know what you need to do. It’s not even particularly complicated and, if you’re honest, you’ve probably done things like this before. And yet here you are, still thinking about it, still putting it off, still finding something else to do first.
Perhaps you’ve got to the point where you’re actually getting quite annoyed with yourself. Because really, what is the problem? Why can’t you just get on with it?
You’ve probably tried all the sensible things. Make a list. Break it down. Give yourself a deadline. Tell yourself to stop overthinking and just do the thing. Maybe you’ve even had a stern word with yourself about how much easier everything would be if you would simply get on with it.
And sometimes that works. Until it doesn’t.
Because sometimes “I can’t get on with it” isn’t actually about the thing you need to do. There might be something about it that you haven’t quite seen yet. Something you’re resisting, something you’re worried about, something you don’t want to admit you don’t want to do. Or perhaps you’re simply tired of pushing yourself through things because you think you should.
Which makes me wonder whether the question needs to be quite so much about getting on with it.
What if, instead, you got curious about what’s actually going on?
Not so you can find another way to make yourself do it. Not so you can come up with an even better system for getting things done. Just to see what’s there.
Because you might discover that the thing you’ve been trying so hard to get yourself to do isn’t quite the thing you thought it was.
Sometimes it’s less about the thing itself, and more about where you’re standing when you look at it.
And that could be interesting.
If you’d like some company while you find out, I’m hosting Bring Your To-Do List on Thursday 8th October, 2–7pm UK time. Bring the thing you keep not getting on with. No pushing required, and you’re very welcome. You can find out more here.
If something in this post resonates and you’d like to explore it further, reach out. I’d be happy to talk.
