Finding it hard to start anything?

What happens before the first action?

Think of a recent time when you meant to do something but never started. There is no need to analyse the whole past month: the few minutes before the task you put off are enough.

• What exactly were you going to do, and what was the first action meant to be: getting up, opening a file, dialling a number?
• What did you feel just before it: heaviness in your body, tension, indifference or fear of getting something wrong?
• What thought came up at that moment: ‘this will take ages’, ‘it won’t work anyway’ or ‘I’ll do it later’?
• What did you do instead, and what did you feel afterwards: relief, guilt or even more tiredness?

Your answers show what stands between intention and action: lack of energy, fear of mistakes, a task that feels too big or lack of interest. This determines which step is worth starting with.

If you cannot recall such a moment, don’t force it. Next time you put something off, notice just two things: what you were going to do and what you did instead. The stories in the section “What stops other people before the first step?” can also help you describe your own situation.

What stops other people before the first step?

Imagine a few situations. In each, a person wants or needs to do something but stops for a different reason.

The obstacles in these stories differ: exhaustion for Iryna, fear of mistakes for Denys, an unclear first step for Alona, lost interest for Andrii. For Svitlana, putting things off comes together with lasting changes in mood and sleep, so these deserve attention too.

If at least one of the stories resembles yours, note which obstacle it shows: that determines which tip from the section “How can you take the first step more easily?” to try. If none of them fits, this does not make your difficulties any smaller: obstacles often overlap, and yours may look different. In that case, rely on your own moment: the questions in the section “What happens before the first action?” can help you describe it.

What else can look like trouble getting started?

Putting things off can also be part of other conditions. Which of them is closest to yours affects which step to choose.

• Apathy. The inner drive towards almost any activity fades: the hard part is not so much starting as wanting anything at all. The page on apathy explains how this indifference differs from laziness and ordinary tiredness.
• Persistent fatigue. You lack energy not only for the first step but for the task itself. For Iryna in our example, the tiredness has a clear reason: a month of caring for her daughter and broken sleep. If your energy does not return even after rest, read why fatigue may not go away.
• Loss of interest. You can start, but an activity such as bike repair no longer appeals to Andrii. When this happens with almost all your interests, it helps to know when loss of interest in usual activities needs attention.
• Difficulty making choices. What gets in the way is not the action itself but having to decide where to begin and what to do. Alona’s situation is partly like this. If choosing is exhausting even in small things, see the page “Difficulty making decisions”.

One does not rule out the other: Svitlana, for example, shows signs of several conditions at once. So, to choose a step, it matters more to understand which obstacle gets in your way most often than to find the exact name for it.

Why does starting become so hard?

To take on a task, you need three things:

1. The energy the task requires.
2. A clear idea of the goal. It can be a small goal, which is even better, but it is still a goal.
3. A sense that this small goal is within your reach.

It is even better if reaching this small goal also brings you some pleasure. When any one of these is missing, the first step can feel harder than the task itself.

In our examples, different things are missing:

• Iryna lacks energy. After a long period of overload, lack of sleep or illness, energy is the first thing to run out. In that case, rest and sleep often gradually restore the ability to get things done.
• Alona lacks a clear goal. Instead of a single call to the school, she sees the whole list at once. Until the first step has a name, there is nothing to take hold of, and the whole task gets put off.
• Denys lacks a sense that the goal is within his reach. He can see the goal but worries that any mistake will be noticed. If starting a task feels linked to the risk of a mistake or criticism, putting it off brings relief for a while. But the task does not disappear, and the tension around it grows, so next time it is even harder to start.
• Andrii lacks pleasure in the result. He has both the energy and a clear goal, but repairing the bike no longer promises anything. When activities stop interesting you, the expectation of enjoying them fades too, and even a long-loved pastime no longer draws you in.

A lack of energy and drive can also be linked to physical conditions, such as anaemia or thyroid problems, or to the effects of some medicines.

If you have found it hard to get things done for most of the day over several weeks, while your mood is low and your interest is fading, as in our example with Svitlana, a psychiatrist checks for other signs of depression. The page on depression explains which changes it involves. Difficulty starting tasks on its own does not yet mean that you have this disorder.

Which specialist should you start with?

People usually start with a psychiatrist. At the consultation, the doctor will ask which tasks have become hard to start and since when, what happens before the first action, and how you sleep and feel during the day. What happens at the first appointment is described on the page about the initial psychiatric consultation.

Also mention any physical complaints and medicines you already take. The doctor will decide whether tests or a consultation with another doctor are needed and will discuss further help with you.

If your mood and sleep have not changed and the main obstacle is fear of mistakes and harsh self-criticism, you can start with a psychotherapy consultation: it looks at what exactly stops you from getting things done and how to deal with it. You can learn about the areas of work and experience of our specialists on the page of the clinic’s doctors.

How can you take the first step more easily?

The tips in this section build on the list in “Why does starting become so hard?”: each one helps make up for what you are missing. Choose the tip that matches the obstacle you noticed before the first action.

• The task feels too big. Set yourself a small goal: the smallest physical action the task starts with. Not ‘sort out the documents’ but ‘find the school’s phone number’. Decide on the next action only after the first one.
• Fear of mistakes holds you back. Allow yourself a draft that nobody will see: a few sentences or a list of points. Editing existing text is easier than starting from a blank page.
• You lack energy. Choose a time when you usually feel more alert and shorten the task to a few minutes. Put off what can wait, or ask one of the people close to you to help.
• The task does not interest you. When interest is low, the wish to act may not come before you start, so you do not have to wait for it. Start with a short part of an activity that used to matter to you, even if it does not appeal now, and notice how you feel afterwards.
• It is hard to start alone. Agree on a specific time with someone: a friend sits next to you while you fill in the application, or a colleague calls in the morning so you can open the task together.

All these tips share one basis: a small, clear goal that is within your reach and gives a result you can notice. After the first step, pause and check whether it has become easier to continue. Even if you have only started, the task is already under way.

Demands like ‘pull yourself together’ or ‘just start’ usually only deepen guilt and do not remove what is in the way. If even the smallest step has not worked for several weeks, it does not mean you have not tried hard enough: these difficulties are worth telling a psychiatrist about.

When it’s time to see a doctor

1. If thoughts of death or self-harm appear along with not wanting to do anything, do not wait for a routine appointment. Seek help the same day, and if you are in immediate danger, call 103 or 112 in Ukraine. How to act in this situation is explained on the page “Suicidal thoughts”.
2. If you have found it hard to get things done almost every day for two weeks or longer, or putting things off is already having consequences such as overdue bills or missed deadlines, book a consultation with a psychiatrist. If you are already struggling to cope, you do not need to wait two weeks.
3. If, along with the difficulty starting, your mood, sleep or appetite has changed, or things that used to bring you pleasure no longer do now, do not put off a consultation either.
4. If putting things off began after a stressful period or lack of sleep and does not happen every day, try one tip from the section “How can you take the first step more easily?”. If it does not get easier, return to point 2.
5. If none of the stories or obstacles resembles yours, look at the section “What else can look like trouble getting started?”: one of the conditions described there may be closer to your experience.