> [!tip] Issue: > Sometimes when I look at my to-do list and see how much work I need to get done, I feel really overwhelmed by it and as a consequence, I don't really know where to start and just end up procrastinating. --- I experience 3 kinds of pressure: 1. Global 2. Vague 3. Specific ### Global Pressure when I feel overwhelmed by everything on my plate, i.e the full breadth of stuff I have or want to do. ### Vague Pressure when I feel overwhelmed by all of the steps I have to do, i.e. the depth of what I have to do within specific situations. So I know the elements of what I have to do, but haven't quite clarified things yet ### Specific Pressure when I have things clearly-defined, but am having trouble doing it. this is the easiest thing for me to solve. As a result, I find it easiest to move things from global & vague pressure into specific pressure by doing these three things: 1. Making a list of things to do 2. Making a checklist of what to do for each of those things 3. Preparing my environment to get into the work Under global pressure I get zapped and overwhelmed because I don't have specific things planned yet.[^1] When I'm under vague pressure, I *know* I have stuff to do - elements of projects and tasks float around in my brain, notes, calendar, lists, etc. But I haven't clearly defined and planned each thing so I can't realistically tackle things. This is a very big issue in particular when I'm tired. To move to specific pressure I ask myself these questions: 1. What outcome am I desiring. What exactly do I want to do 2. How long might it take me to do it, or how much time will I allow myself to spend on it today 3. What are the specific next steps required to accomplish the task This also works even when I'm feeling global pressure, because asking myself point blank what I want to do in step one eventually leads to vague pressure, and then specific pressure. [^1]: This is different from the existential dread though obviously. That's what the therapy is for :)