Limitless

The tiniest action you can take to get you closer to your goal. One that requires minimal effort or energy. Over time, these become habits.

the Zeigarnik effect—that uncompleted tasks created a level of tension that keeps that task at the front of our minds until it is completed.

When you have something you know you need to do and you keep putting it off, it weighs on you, even making it more difficult to do anything else well as long as this task goes uncompleted

Why is it still so hard to act, even when we have sustained motivation?

A project or a chore might seem so big and time-consuming that you can’t imagine how you’re ever going to get it done.

“Incomplete tasks and procrastinating often lead to frequent and unhelpful thought patterns,” says psychologist Hadassah Lipszyc. “These thoughts can impact on sleep, trigger anxiety symptoms, and further impact on a person’s mental and emotional resources.”

We already know that unfinished tasks create tension in your brain. If you layer guilt and shame on top of this, you’re making it even harder to get a task done, and you’re making yourself miserable.

the best way to deal with this is to find a way to break the task into bite-size pieces, which lead to habits that lead toward success.

genius is made, not born. This magician’s skill is the result of discipline and practice. These talents have been learned and honed over time with determination and discipline.”

You really don’t want to make dinner? Make something simple for your family to snack on while you cook dinner later.

You’re having trouble writing that big speech for next month’s conference? Just write the keynote to the speech now.

You’re overwhelmed by the amount of reading you need to do for your economics class? Set a goal for yourself of reading the first chapter.

By breaking a task that you’re procrastinating about into smaller pieces, the path to getting it done becomes clear.

The best way to deal with the tension between what you want and what you’ve done so far to achieve it is to remember what the Zeigarnik effect teaches us. You’re not going to be able to ease your mind about this task until you complete it, so get yourself moving toward completion. Start somewhere. Anywhere. Even if you don’t have the energy or the motivation to get the entire thing done, get started on getting it done. You’ll be thankful for the relief.

Think about an important task you’ve been putting off. What is it? How can you break it down into simpler steps that you can do each day?

Small simple steps repeated lead to habits.

Our habits are a core part of who we are.

“The habits you repeat (or don’t repeat) every day largely determine your health, wealth, and happiness.

Knowing how to change your habits means knowing how to confidently own and manage your days, focus on the behaviors that have the highest impact, and reverse-engineer the life you want.”

breaking a bad habit isn’t about ending that habit, but rather about replacing it with a different, more constructive, habit.