Why Can’t I Get Started? Understanding Task Initiation and Procrastination

Before you try to fix procrastination, it helps to understand what’s getting in the way.

Clients often describe trouble getting started as a lack of motivation. I have a complicated relationship with the word motivation. The word itself isn’t bad – it’s the association people have with the word.

People think lack of motivation = laziness which only increases shame, self-depreciating language and self-doubt. It allows fear to creep in and that voice in your head to say “I am not reliable” and “if I can’t get things done how will anyone ever count on me?” 

Difficulty getting started is not evidence of laziness. There are neurobiological processes involved in motivation, reward, effort, and action. Knowing how to tap into your brain to get it moving is the key. 

Please don’t assume just because you can’t get started you are lazy. That judgement stops curiosity in its tracks. Instead, put on the white lab coat and look at the situation from an objective point of view. 

This difficulty getting started is often referred to as task initiation. Task initiation is one part of executive functioning, and difficulty with it can show up in many different ways.

Procrastination is information and it is telling you one of the following:

• The task is too ambiguous. Where do I start?
• The task feels too big. I’m overwhelmed by the whole thing.
• The task isn’t engaging enough. I’d rather do something else.
• There is fear behind the task. What if…?
• The expectations are too high. If I can’t do it perfectly, why start?
• The task requires more mental bandwidth than you have right now. I could do this, just not right now.

In future articles I’ll be talking about strategies to help with each of these challenges. For now when task avoidance shows up do 3 things:

1. Look at procrastination as information.
2. Get curious about what is behind it.
3. When you were in a similar situation before- what worked? Look for information from your own past. This tells your brain what to do more of and gives you data to move forward.