If a task feels aversive to you, you may actually have a reason not to do it.
Consider the following, from most to least obvious:
What are the costs of doing the task? (What’s unpleasant about the task? What could you be doing with your time instead?)
What are the risks if you fail? (Would people think less of you? Would failure confirm your fear of being inadequate?)
What are the risks if you succeed? (Will people raise their future expectations of you? Will you feel obligated to accept the job offer, whether or not it’s right for you?)
You can also consider the benefits of doing the task, at each of the three stages above. Maybe the upside simply isn’t high enough to justify the effort.
Even if you think you already know the benefits and costs, it may be worth setting at least a 5-minute timer to free-associate possible reasons. Imagine yourself starting, failing, or succeeding at the task. What thoughts and feelings come to mind?
Whenever you think of a possible reason, consider whether it feels like it’s contributing to your aversion. Change the reason until it feels right. Then consider what you should actually do about it. For example, you could:
Precompute whatever thinking you’ve been putting off until later. (What will you do if you fail/succeed? Can you emotionally process the potential consequences, right now?)
Do the task differently. (Should you change your plan to make sure you’ll be proud of the result? Should you postpone the task until you get other important things done?)
Quit working on the task. (What will you do instead?)
+1. Generally I used to feel stressed about this until I realised it was like free subconscious task prioritization. Now I mostly do whatever feels most exciting to me first and it has worked out pretty well IMO. This lets me save my willpower for doing the aversive but necessary things I have agreed with other people on doing.
If you bind some part of your identity to a smug sense of decision theoretic superiority, you will find that following through on pre-commitments becomes nearly effortless.
If a task feels aversive to you, you may actually have a reason not to do it.
Consider the following, from most to least obvious:
What are the costs of doing the task? (What’s unpleasant about the task? What could you be doing with your time instead?)
What are the risks if you fail? (Would people think less of you? Would failure confirm your fear of being inadequate?)
What are the risks if you succeed? (Will people raise their future expectations of you? Will you feel obligated to accept the job offer, whether or not it’s right for you?)
You can also consider the benefits of doing the task, at each of the three stages above. Maybe the upside simply isn’t high enough to justify the effort.
Even if you think you already know the benefits and costs, it may be worth setting at least a 5-minute timer to free-associate possible reasons. Imagine yourself starting, failing, or succeeding at the task. What thoughts and feelings come to mind?
Whenever you think of a possible reason, consider whether it feels like it’s contributing to your aversion. Change the reason until it feels right. Then consider what you should actually do about it. For example, you could:
Precompute whatever thinking you’ve been putting off until later. (What will you do if you fail/succeed? Can you emotionally process the potential consequences, right now?)
Do the task differently. (Should you change your plan to make sure you’ll be proud of the result? Should you postpone the task until you get other important things done?)
Quit working on the task. (What will you do instead?)
+1. Generally I used to feel stressed about this until I realised it was like free subconscious task prioritization. Now I mostly do whatever feels most exciting to me first and it has worked out pretty well IMO. This lets me save my willpower for doing the aversive but necessary things I have agreed with other people on doing.
If you bind some part of your identity to a smug sense of decision theoretic superiority, you will find that following through on pre-commitments becomes nearly effortless.