this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2026
53 points (96.5% liked)
Home Improvement
13976 readers
27 users here now
Home Improvement
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I know exactly what episode you're talking about, and yes! That's both my fear and my experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W4NFcamRhM
As for motivation to tackle that sort of thing, my Grandpa would say "Starting the job is half the job". It's kinda stuck with me so the only thing I think about is just grabbing something to start with.
You know by the time you're done you're going to have every tool you own on the ground beside you, so you might as well just grab something vaguely related and begin walking. You can make the rest up as you go.
That’s called persistent starting, and it can be a valid strategy for overcoming things like executive dysfunction.
Oftentimes, the hardest part of a task is simply starting it. So persistent starting basically says “tell yourself it’s okay to quit after [x]”. Have a sink full of dishes to wash? It’s okay to stop after you only wash two cups. The whole sink may be daunting, but two cups is much more manageable. So starting becomes easier. And chances are good that you’ll go “eh, my hands are already wet. Might as well wash the rest while I’m here.” Now the dishes are done, even though you only set out to wash two cups.
Thank you kind person. This is annenormous issue for me, and it was extremely helpful having you spell this strategy out so simply.
I think it's also important that sometimes the 2 dishes is just the 2 dishes, otherwise your brain starts to say "sure you say 2 dishes, but that really means the whole thing!"