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How do I start a task I keep putting off?

Short answer: Make the first step tiny and decide exactly when it happens. People procrastinate most on tasks that feel unpleasant and far from any reward, so shrink the start to something that takes two minutes, attach it to a time and place with an if-then plan, and remove your main distraction before that moment.[1][2]

By Seth Richardson, Founder of ProcrastiGauge · Last reviewed 24 October 2026 · Based on published research (sources below)

Key facts

  • Step 1: a two-minute first action
  • Step 2: an if-then plan with a time and place
  • Step 3: remove the main distraction
  • Step 4: reward yourself for starting

The details

1. Write the smallest possible first action, such as "open the document and write the title". 2. Make an if-then plan: "If it is 4 pm, then I will sit at my desk and do that first action." 3. Put your phone in another room for the first 20 minutes. 4. Give yourself a small reward right after you start.

This works with what research says drives delay: a small first step makes the task less aversive, a fixed time reduces the need for willpower, and an immediate reward brings the payoff closer. If-then plans in particular have a medium-to-large effect on reaching goals.

Once you have started, momentum usually carries you further than you planned. ProcrastiGauge can help you set this up every night: it asks you to plan tomorrow's first task and then asks the next evening how long you waited before starting it.

Limits of the evidence. These steps apply the research findings; the exact four-step routine has not been tested as a package.
How ProcrastiGauge helps. ProcrastiGauge ends every check-in by planning tomorrow's first task and tracks how long you waited before starting, so you can see the routine working. Try ProcrastiGauge free for 7 days.

Try ProcrastiGauge free for 7 days

A one-minute check-in every night: a score out of 100, what lifted or held back your day, one specific change for tomorrow and a streak that keeps you consistent. Android and web, in English and Spanish.

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Related questions

Sources

  1. Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65-94. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65Meta-analysis based on 691 correlations.
  2. Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69-119. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-1Meta-analysis of 94 independent tests.