If you get stressed about how many things are on your to-do list (so you don’t do anything)—this exercise is for you.

When you have a bunch of things to do, it can be easy to get overwhelmed, shut down, and avoid them all completely.

This activity is designed to break lift the all-or-nothing thinking pattern of “I need to do it all today,” and make it less intimidating to take the first step of starting.

If you over-analyze until you get decision fatigue and give up—this exercise is for you.

When weighing options, we often do mental gymnastics even without realizing it, trying to foresee every possible scenario (and prevent negative outcomes).

But writing these thoughts down on paper can bring a sense of clarity that you can’t find by ruminating in your own head—ultimately saving you time and mental energy.

If you give up on goals as soon as you fall off the wagon—this exercise is for you.

New habits often don’t stick when you get over-ambitious and hold yourself to (unrealistically) high standards. After the initial burst of motivation has worn off, it’s easy to fall back into old behaviors and feel like a failure—tanking your self-esteem in the process.

Learning to set your bar lower helps maintain consistency (while still giving you the option to push yourself further when you’ve got extra energy to spare).

If you’re always getting sidetracked—this exercise is for you.

Resisting the temptations of instant gratification are hard for everybody, but they’re especially alluring to us chronic procrastinators.

Use the first page of the PDF to brainstorm what always seems to be vying for your attention, then refer to the second page to try out some tips!

If you avoid tasks due to fear, overwhelm, and uncertainty—this strategy is for you.

When a task seems big and scary, it can be hard to work up the motivation to take the first step. Everything feels like it’s gonna be hard (ugh) and will take forever (double ugh).

But taking time to think through the actual process of what needs to happen—and in what order—can make it less intimidating to start. Creating a mental roadmap can help you get from where you currently are to where you need to be.

If you have a hard time saying “no” to people—this strategy is for you.

It’s rough being a people-pleaser. It feels so good to help out, but it can easily lead to becoming stressed by how many things we have going on at once.

Whether it’s a work project you don’t have time for, a baby shower you don’t care about, or a freelance gig you’re not interested in—here are some helpful ways to flip the script and set boundaries without feeling the need to justify yourself with an “excuse.”

If you struggle to get stuff done during periods of intense stress and chaos—this strategy is for you.

It can be tricky to make progress when you get caught up in an anxiety spiral and are struggling to staying afloat.

There’s only so much you can do to control your external circumstances, but taking the time to identify and plan for obstacles in your way can help make for (slightly) smoother sailing.

If you find yourself too mentally exhausted to get anything done—this activity is for you.

Trying to ignore your brain’s symptoms so you can continue working is a BAD IDEA. Your mental tank doesn’t have to be 100% full, but it’s dangerous to run on fumes.

Use these pages to come up with “brain fuel” ideas for when future-you needs to fill up your tank!

If you’re always saying “I’ll do it, but not right now”—this strategy is for you.

When you let your emotions dictate what you do (and don’t) work on, it’s easy to fall into the trap of avoiding anything that doesn’t have immediate repercussions.

You’ll never feel like doing stuff you don’t want to do, but this exercise can help you determine if the universe is telling you it’s finally time to get your ass in gear.

If you can’t get things done without external pressure—this strategy is for you.

Tons of people struggle with internal motivation, and for good reason— it’s easy to continue procrastinating something if nobody will know (or care) if you get it done.

It can be helpful to find an accountabili-buddy who’s willing to hold you, well… accountable. So find a friend (or partner, roommate, kid, sibling, coworker, etc.), grab a pencil, and take your shot!

NOTE: Just like the original BATTLESHIP, this game requires two players. Trust me, I know the idea of asking someone to play with you might feel kinda scary… but I hope you give it a shot. Try not to convince yourself people will say “no” before you even ask; I think you’ll be surprised by who’s happy to lend a hand. (Plus, it benefits them too—everyone wins!)

Can’t find anyone to play with? Nbd. Try posting a request for a battle partner under #AntiPlanner (or replying to someone else’s request)! I’ll be checking the hashtag on Twitter occasionally; I love taking on new challengers ????

If you avoid unpleasant tasks for as long as humanly possible—this strategy is for you.

Incentivizing yourself can be difficult, especially when the task at hand is boring, repetitive, time-intensive, or just annoying in general.

Figuring out something you can look forward to after the task is complete can help. It’s often easier to push through the “yuck” when you can focus on the prize at the finish line.

If you’re ambitious but struggle with perseverance—this strategy is for you.

Struggling with long-term goals is super-common, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. When you start hitting roadblocks, it’s easy to give up and trade your current goal for a new one.

Use this worksheet to ask yourself the hard questions to find out why you want the things you want, and create a game plan for how you’ll deal with potential issues in advance (vs. trying to problem-solve after you’ve fallen off the wagon and are watching the horse run away).

If you want to stay tidy, but can’t seem to stop piling things in the same places—this strategy is for you.

It feels so discouraging to spend hours cleaning up your living space, only to watch it fall back into disarray within a few days. You might know where items are “supposed” to go, but that’s not always enough motivation to get yourself to actually put them away.

Plopping things in the most convenient location is your brain’s (short-sighted) attempt to be efficient and save you time: “Why spend 45 seconds walking to the bathroom to put this bottle of Tylenol back in the medicine cabinet… when we could set it on the kitchen counter instead?”

So instead of trying to force yourself into a “typical” organizational system that isn’t working for you, let’s start leaning into your existing tendencies to create a solution that does.

If you struggle to with task management and keeping track of to-do’s—this strategy is for you.

This one’s a double-whammy! A twofer! BOGO!! ???? Twice the strategies for twice the prioritization encouragement!

If you’re nicer to other people than you are to yourself—this strategy is for you.

Disappointment, heartbreak, and frustration are difficult emotions to handle, and you might project that judgment onto yourself through negative self-talk. But blaming yourself and ruminating over negative emotions won’t help you in the long-run; it usually just makes things worse.

So if you’re always there to support your closest friends in their times of need, why is it so hard to extend the same kindness to yourself? Zooming out to see the whole picture from an objective third-party perspective can help you find some reassurance and comfort—all on your own.

If you tend to focus on the things you get wrong (instead of the little things you get right)—this activity is for you.

Critical inner voices can be, well… total assholes. The part of my brain that says “Good job!” is usually pretty quiet, but the part that says “THIS ISN’T THAT HARD, YOU JUST SUCK AT BEING AN ADULT” is cranked up to 11 at all times.

And when you’re not feeling good about yourself, it can be difficult to remember all the things you actually did get right—even if it took you a while to finally get around to them. But those little victories are still worth celebrating. ????

(So what if it took 4 years for me to empty my car trunk? The world didn’t end.)

If you know what you need to do, but struggle to actually do it—this strategy is for you.

There are a million reasons that can stand in the way between you and your goals. And like, yeah. Sometimes they’re big things. But I often find that it’s the little things that end up tripping me up the most.

The key to moving past these mental hurdles is recognizing the “why” behind your avoidance. What’s stopping you? Boredom? Inconvenience? Do you keep forgetting about it, or just aren’t making the time?

Identifying the core problem causing the avoidance is the first step to brainstorming solutions that neutralize the issue. So check out this week’s PDF for examples of common roadblocks and how to move past them—then use the templates provided to figure out how to troubleshoot your own avoidant tendencies!

If you spend so much time trying to decide between options that you run out of energy to actually do the thing—this strategy is for you.

Decision fatigue is real. And it’s one of the biggest mental roadblocks to overcome since there are often actual, valid reasons why you’re thinking things through so much.

Eliminating options requires mental energy. And when it feels like there are too many possibilities on the menu, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and choose the Procrastinator’s Classic Combo™  — “do nothing” with a side of “feel anxious/guilty.”

Perfectionism also exacerbates indecision. If you’re anything like me, you have a tendency to “min/max” outcomes—meaning you intrinsically seek to make decisions that maximize gains while minimizing possible loss in a worst-case-scenario. But min/max-ing comes with a price—time. It takes time to run all those simulations in your head (plus you run the risk of spending all your mental fuel only to have nothing left to actually do The Thing).

One way of avoiding the pitfalls of over-analysis is figuring out the most efficient way to reduce options when the stakes are relatively low. Get better at noticing when a decision is better than no decision. In those situations, picking an option at random is a good place to start.

If you’re an overachiever who is never satisfied with “good enough”—this strategy is for you.

When you’re full of energy and ideas, it can be difficult to simplify things down to only the bare necessities. Excitement from all the ✨pOsSiBiLiTiEs✨ can often cause us to take on more than we can chew—or is even necessary. So what’s an overachieving perfectionist to do?

1. Separate project elements into two categories:

   • MUST-HAVE’S:
     • Bare-minimum requirements
     • Project can’t be considered “complete” without these parts
   • NICE-TO-HAVE’S:
     • In an ideal world, these would all be included
     • Technically aren’t required

2. Complete all must-have’s first

3. Work on nice-to-have’s with any time you have left (if you feel like it)

Ignoring nice-to-have’s can be painful when you’re an excitable overachiever, but you’ll be shocked how much easier it is to get things technically “done” when you’re shooting for an MVP (minimum viable product).

If you get off-track by even the smallest of things—this strategy is for you.

When it feels like everything is constantly competing for your focus, it can be difficult to make much progress on anything.

Your attention is a limited resource—and it’s really easy to accidentally give it away without realizing it’s even happening. Maybe you’re having a craving to change your internal feelings (being hungry or bored). Maybe someone you live with keeps disrupting your flow by asking you questions. Maybe your pet just won’t leave you alone.

While it can be frustrating to feel pulled away from your work, there are things you can try.

It starts with recognizing patterns, identifying what kinds of things routinely get you off-track, and brainstorming proactive solutions to neutralize them before they arise. KA-POW! ????

If you get freaked out by how “big” tasks can seem—this exercise is for you.

When you’re working on something that has multiple components, it can get really easy to get so overwhelmed that you don’t want to do anything. Procrastination due to intimidation is incredibly common, so if you’ve ever felt this way you’re definitely not alone.

If you’re always doing things for others even when you’re already at your limit—this activity is for you.

While it can feel good to help others out, many of us people-pleasers end up biting off more than we can chew. Some of us avoid conflict at all costs, and therefore struggle to set/enforce boundaries (since we never learned how). But the more you stand up for yourself and your own free time, the less-scary it becomes. And before you know it, you’ll be a boundary-setting master who says “yes” to things because you want to, not because you’re afraid you have to.

If you struggle to move forward when you get anxious—this strategy is for you.

When I’m freaking the fuck out, it’s hard to think clearly (let alone get anything done). During those high-stress moments, all I want to do is hide and hope the thing goes away on its own. Other times, I just want to throw my hands up in defeat and convince myself there’s nothing I can do to make things better.

But often, taking a step back from the chaos and asking a few simple questions can really help us get some clarity and determine what we have control over, what we don’t, and what we can do to make things easier on ourselves.

If you struggle to cook when you’re out of mental energy—this strategy is for you.

It’s no huge secret that cooking takes a lot of work. Between meal planning, grocery shopping, washing, preparing ingredients, cooking, serving, and cleaning… it’s no wonder so many of us start to feel the urge to say “fuck it” and order delivery whenever we’re stressed.

That’s why I created this ✨handy-dandy✨ list of foods that don’t require much prep, cooking, or dirty dishes. The next time the mental load of meal planning and feeding yourself becomes too much to bear, check it out for ideas!

Tackling tasks from all areas of life.

If you find yourself procrastinating a variety of tasks across multiple areas of your life—this activity is for you.

Getting my procrastinator brain to do ~unfun~ things can feel like pulling teeth. But if I find a way to make mundane tasks even mildly amusing, it’s a lot easier to get stuff done. Try seeing how many to-do’s you can get in a row with a twist on this classic game!

If you love proving people wrong—this activity is for you.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a bit of a defiant streak. I might tell myself I’m not capable of doing something, but the instant someone else tells me I can’t do it… it’s like an internal switch flips on and I get an overwhelming urge to prove them wrong. Spite can be a powerful motivator!

Check out this activity and remember—even if you don’t get 100% to your goal by the end of the timer, you’ll make it a hell of a lot further than if you didn’t try at all.

(That being said, if you’re the type who gets flustered easily or might get stressed/upset if you fall short of your goal—maybe sit this one out. No judgment! ????)

If there are certain tasks you dislike with every fiber of your being—this activity is for you.

Our brains evolved to help us maximize pleasure and minimize pain. So when you’re dreading a particularly boring, inconvenient, time-consuming, or difficult task—of COURSE your brain tries to find ways to avoid it! You’re literally anticipating pain, which causes anxiety, which causes preemptive avoidance of the trigger (the task).

You may have had people in the past dismiss your emotions by saying “whatever, nobody likes [task], just suck it up.” But even if you do miraculously manage to brute-force your way through the mental barrier, that short-term motivation won’t stick. Because you didn’t actually address the underlying root of the problem—identifying the discomfort you feel and troubleshooting potential solutions to alleviate it.

Breaking the cycle of avoidance certainly ain’t easy, but approaching these internal challenges with curiosity and a problem-solving mindset is the first step. Check out the PDF for some ideas to get started brainstorming your own solutions!

What order should you start on things?

This is the exercise I use THE MOST from the whole book. It’s not particularly glamorous, but it’s excellent.

Figuring out your priorities—what’s most important and why—is the first step to making meaningful progress toward your goals. Plus, being extra-efficient with your time means you can be done faster (and get back to the fun shit you actually want to do!).