“After I get my ducks in a row, then I’ll be able to…”

Not true. Not because you aren’t capable of taking care of the niggling little details that seem to keep you from doing the hard stuff, but because you know you can handle those details, you only want to handle those details. Your ducks, I suppose.

You don’t dive in an do the hard stuff because you aren’t sure that you can. You don’t know what might happen. That’s why you focus on the ducks, as if the ducks actually make a difference to anything.

“But I just can’t focus with a messy desk/ dirty laundry/ dishes in the sink/ emails in my inbox.”

Fine. Then make a deal with yourself: Rather than avoiding what you know is more important than a household chore, let the chore be your reward. Do what’s truly important to you first, then put in a load of laundry. If that sounds silly, it’s because it is.

You are able to start today. Whatever it is, you can start it.  Take ten minutes. Be the type of person who starts. Your ducks can wait.