Why is it so hard to just do it?
It is barely a month till the end of the year. Looking at my new year's resolutions and things I aimed to do in January, it is evident that I’m far behind from the standards I set myself at the beginning of the year. Far behind, really?
That is what it looks like. Habits unbroken, books unread, courses unfinished, skills left to be honed. There’s a conviction I have that I am not alone in this reality, many of us are looking back at how we have spent our time this year and are not so satisfied.
Thinking about this reminds me of motivational articles, and stories I’ve seen, and a concept about counting down to 5 to do whatever it is one wants to do. When I learned this technique, it worked so well in the first week, I jumped out of bed at the count of five, studied my software tutorials at the count of five, picked up a book to read at the count of five, logged out of Twitter at the count of five, and eventually, I just stopped counting down to five.
The main idea counting down to five is based on what is expressed by Nike, “Just do it.” I then ask myself, why is it so damn difficult to just do it. Why? Even when I know fully well that doing it is the better option to take than not doing it. There has to be an explanation for why just doing things is so difficult.
In this writing, I’ll attempt to explore the possible reasons why we find it difficult to carry out tasks, from simple ones like reading a verse of the Bible in the morning or meditating for 5 mins after breakfast, to difficult ones like solving all the questions in your textbook, or sending cold emails to 500 potential employers.
It is quite important that we get why it is so difficult to just do things so we won’t be able to relate to this article in November 2024, and we can be sure that the resolutions we will be making in January 2024, just about a month from now will not be left as the ones we made in January, to fate.
What makes a task difficult?
The first point of call in unraveling why it is difficult to just do it, a fancy phrase I’ve formed to avoid calling you and me lazy asses, is to find out what makes a thing difficult to do?
You will agree with me that the difficulty of tasks is definitely relative, based on the capacity of a person to actually carry out the task. But I wonder, what makes something like laying one’s bed difficult? It doesn’t require so much physical strength as cleaning the house.
Task difficulty is a concept studied in psychology and education. It is defined as “the degree to which the activity represents a personally demanding situation requiring a considerable amount of cognitive or physical effort in order to accomplish. Take note of the keywords, personally demanding, and the amount of cognitive and physical effort.
The definition referenced above shows that task difficulty is relative, and poses different levels of demand to us. We also need different amounts of cognitive and physical effort to complete the same task. In a design studio for example, some people have the ability to work on the project for a long time until it’s completed, while others can’t just get themselves to do it. They just can’t, perhaps, can they?
This question is a very scientific one to ask, and I must admit that I am nowhere close to being able to give an appropriate answer. I’m also incapacitated by the limit to the amount of scientific papers I have access to on this topic. However, from what I’ve gathered, we can conclude that task difficulty varies individually as we perceive tasks differently.
The next question to ask is what influences our perception of how difficult tasks are? Perception of the goal and perception of processing effort have been identified here. This implies that for you to perceive tasks better, you need to view the goal in the right way, and appropriately gauge what is required of you to achieve the task. See that the goal is too important not to be accomplished, and not so much is needed from you to finish the task. Not so much.
As aforementioned, this is muddy waters to me, but I believe you can gather from what I’ve briefly touched on that tasks are difficult because of your perception of the goal, and how you see the effort required of you to finish the task. See the goal as a do or die, realize fully that not so much is required of you, and you have a good place to start dealing with difficult tasks.
Everything You Want is on the Other Side of Fear.
I know you’ve seen the catchphrase more times than you’ve finished your daily to-do list, haha. Yeah. But like most catchphrases, we often miss out on its profoundness. It is demonstrable that the reason why we fear something is because we lack knowledge of it.
The simple reason why you have not just done that thing you should be doing might just be that you are afraid of it. This is where it becomes very vital that you gather knowledge. Knowledge itself is power, but the power it gives might not enable you to get tasks done. With knowledge, you get rid of the fear of the task, but you need to move beyond that and have a right perspective of the goal and what is required of you to achieve it.
This also highlights the importance of guidance in whatever you embark on. Getting a first-hand encounter with someone that has completed what you want to do might be exactly what you need to get on with it.
Treat Yourself Like Someone You Are Responsible For Helping.
This is rule number two of the first 12 rules of life from Jordan Peterson that I resonate with from my daily experiences. I have a younger brother, and I find myself visibly angry whenever he shows indiscipline. I care so much about him that I try to make sure that he does everything he needs to do to perform well.
Why don’t I treat myself this way? I often ask myself, why don’t I wake myself up to read, or take away my phone when I am on Twitter for 12 straight hours. Jordan Peterson explains that I don’t do this because I don’t like myself enough. It is quite strange, but true.
We are very likely to put ourselves on a pedestal higher than we really are while demanding too low for ourselves. The rule is self-explanatory, treat yourself like a child who doesn’t know what they are doing. Because most of us are. Realize that getting yourself to do the things you should do requires a coordinated and conscious effort.
To End With
Looking at the year in another light, in spite of the unfulfilled New Year resolutions, this year has had its own Double Us for me. I am definitely not where I was when I started this year. One might be deceived to think that the fact that my New Year goals have not been met doesn’t matter.
It does, and it does significantly. The Double Us that came this year, even though with inputs from me, came primarily as a result of the kind of life I have. I mean, my status as a student and available opportunities. If I continue this way, it will be very difficult, or even impossible to call me great in years to come.
The essence of this is not to be deceived by the Wins you get when you are not functioning optimally. Yes, they matter, but realise that there are even greater things in store for you if only you could just do it. Time is of the essence, before you realize it, I’ll be 26. Man, I need to start doing it, you do too.
