Day 18: Take one small action and see how it feels

I can relate to this theme very well. As a perfectionist, I always take so much time planning tasks that I struggle to get them started. By breaking the seemingly monumental undertaking into minute steps, it seems easier to overcome the daunting feeling. Once the work gains momentum itself things will flow along. 

Source: https://prolifiko.com/small-steps/

So what are these tasks? There are quite a few actually, writing this journal is one of them. By forcing myself to write whatever comes into my mind regardless of the quality, I have been able to better kick start it. Even if my meticulous character later sinks in to rewrite the texts many times, this technique still works fairly well. 

Another project that I have been dragging for long is to edit and republish my research article on EPL score prediction on Medium. In order to find a better prediction model I fell into the rabbit hole of going into great lengths about the decision tree algorithm, and it became too overwhelming that I eventually stopped. I became exhausted and resistant to this. What kind of small task can I do to regain the passion? Forget about the publication first; just update the EPL 2023-24 scores then run the new decision tree algorithm to see if results improve at all. Shall do it this afternoon.

Another task I keep procrastinating is sketching the portrait of the woman I have a crush on. Similarly, I have so high expectation of myself that I am too afraid to start and then fail. Eventually I even stop opening that picture in her IG account. I shall get myself to print that picture out and put it on my desk; this way I can refocus myself readily on the drawing.

Finally, I still haven't launched the HSP research projects. Apart from the constant distractions, the tasks also seem too daunting to begin. What small steps can I take to initiate it? Let's attempt the find a correlation between IQ and HSP scores. Spend two hours to do an online research to see if relevant data exist. If not, look for correlation between HSP and personality test scores. If still no good progress, write straight to the HSP researchers for help.

Here I completed the first task - Kudos to me! I will tackle the remaining ones after some rest. I can indeed stop procrastination; I can make progress and create changes.