Andrew Williams

January 11th, 2025

Everyone struggles. This is in itself not a problem. Struggle is important. In fact, I’d argue that without struggle, our lives would have no meaning.

When we exercise our bodies, we struggle, and we get stronger. When we exercise our minds, we struggle, and we get wiser and more knowledgeable.

But there’s a world of difference between struggling and being stuck. Struggling = the tow truck in first gear pulling the halfway submerged car out of a mud pit. Stuck = an engine disconnected from its transmission, the RPMs spinning wild and nothing happening.

So, when projects aren’t getting done, it’s not because we’re struggling. It’s because we’re stuck, and there are only 3 possible reasons for this. To get unstuck, the first step is figuring out which of these three reasons is the culprit.

Reason 1: I know what I have to do next, but the task is very daunting/overwhelming.

Reason 2: I’m not sure what I have to do next. It seems complicated and organizing it is hard.

Reason 3: I’m not sure what I have to do next, and honestly, I’m not even sure I want to figure it out.

Each Reason is very different and takes different work to resolve (spoiler, the last one is the hardest).

Reason 1: I know what I have to do next, but the task is very daunting/overwhelming

Great! You’re clear on the next step to get your project to done. You’re not in bad shape at this phase. “But,” you say, “You don’t know how hard this is!”

Okay, okay, it’s probably not great, but I can offer some clear guidance:

• If the next thing you have to do is daunting/overwhelming, first try and divide that thing into smaller things. What is the first initial thing you have to do? And if that still seems overwhelming, divide it again. Get to the point where you can identify the first physical action at the smallest, most atomic level. That’s the next thing you have to do. Nothing else.
• After you do that first thing, repeat. Figure out the next thing you have to do, at the smallest most atomic level. Now do that thing.
• It may not feel much to get something that small done, but it is the key. Many small things add up to big accomplishments.

I think a lot about real-life mountain climbers. They don’t stare at the top of the mountain. They look down at their feet. When the going is hard, they just focus on the next step. And then the next one. They almost never look at their destination, because it’s not helpful. Instead, all they have to do is take the next step. Every once in a while they need to look around, orient and navigate. But that’s a quick assessment and then it’s back to focusing on the next step. If they keep doing that, they will eventually get to the top of the mountain.