If you are having a difficult time motivating yourself to begin a task, give this strategy a try: figure out how much of the job you can accomplish in five minutes’ worth of work, then complete that amount of work and that work only. If you are writing a research paper, for example, five minutes may give you only enough time to collect your notes and perhaps sketch a brief outline. After the time is up, take a short break in which you do something entirely different, then plan what you will accomplish in your next fiveminute session. The key is to force yourself to stop after five minutes; if you don’t, the next time you try this technique you’ll know subconsciously that you intend to work longer and the job will seem no less daunting. Work only for five minutes, but make those five minutes count. If this strategy works for you, after a while you may want to lengthen your work session to ten or fifteen minutes at a time. Always keep it short enough so that the task before you doesn’t seem overwhelming. Keep the intervals between work sessions reasonably brief as well. It does you no good to work for five minutes at a time—no matter how effectively— if you only work once or twice a day.
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