In April, I wrote about some of the techniques for putting my Leeroy Jenkins ethos into action. The reception was positive, so here are five more. These are centered around building momentum and getting started when you're stuck.
1 - Break Inertia
The hardest part is getting started, so make getting started dead simple. If you are stuck in a doom loop, move. Physically move. Stand up. Flap your arms. Anything to get you physically moving. Not starting a project? Do anything. Sketch a note. Archive an email. Create an empty file. Anything! It’s all about pattern breaking.
2 - Just Push Buttons
Don’t know how to get started? Start. Action produces information. You will learn more by doing than by theorizing. I’m reminded of a quote from Ricki Heicklen about their quantitative trading school:
So when people walk through the door, the very first thing we do is have them start trading. Absolute number one, immediately just throw people in without explaining the rules, without explaining too much logic about what is all the syntax going to look like? We say, “Hey, we’re going to go around, play this trading game,” and we get them started and correct as they go. And that’s because a very very big part of our pedagogical philosophy is that the best way to learn how to trade is to trade.
“You need sufficient knowledge to get started” is a self-limiting belief. Getting started is how you know what to do next.
3 - Ask an AI
If you have no idea where to get started, an LLM can get the juices flowing. But to the first point, be wary of planning disguised as procrastination.
I wouldn’t take any plan at face value, but if you don’t know what to do next, brain dump whatever facts, wants, desires, and constraints you have, then prompt your model of choice(if you don’t have a model of choice it’a Opus 4.6) with something like:
I would like to (achieve this goal, build this product, write an essay about this). Study (my notes) Interview me and ask me questions to build out (a step-by-step implementation plan, list of potential actions). (that plan should include A, B, C)
Tweak as needed, then go through the exercise. Don’t give the AI solutions. Give it problems, and see where it goes. Even if the plan is bad, the questions could get your brain moving and spark other ideas. You’re exploring, not handing agency over to a flanker.
4 - Moments over Systems
As James Clear says, “You don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.” While there’s truth to this, it can nerd snipe people into believing “you need a system to get started.” You don’t. System or not, you can make decisions and seize good moments.
Systems help with long-term change. But they hurt when you dodge short-term wins because you’re fixated on some bigger fix you’ll put into place “one day.”
You can pass on that glass of wine with dinner. You can order the grilled entree instead of the fried one. You can make one good decision in a single moment. You don’t need a diet plan, a nutritionist, or an app with macros and charts. You can be good without being perfect.
And besides, what is a system but a way to make the good choices more consistently?
5 - Spontaneous Deep Work Sprints
Ive read many productivity and management books, and one of the most consistent pieces of advice I see is this: the secret to getting a lot done is long, uninterrupted time blocks. They suggest you book appointments with yourself and put them on your calendar. Start the blocks like you’re going to the movies: use the bathroom and grab a snack before you lock in.
I’ve tried this several times, and it never sticks. Some productivity tricks work for some people, but personally, I have never been able to take “an appointment with myself” seriously. Hard as I try, I never stick to the work block. The other challenge is distractions: I’m on the manager schedule, and things come up needing immediate attention. Other times it’s slow, where I’m monitoring and on-call, ready to hop in where needed.
What works for me is grabbing time blocks when I can get them. I don’t schedule them, but when I have a deep work task, and I spot open time on the horizon, I decide then and there to lock in for 30, 45, or 60 minutes. The shorter timeframes are a catalyst: How much can I knock out in a sprint? I don’t think knowledge workers sprint enough, going as hard as they can for a short burst.
“Sprint” has lost its meaning in tech. You cannot sprint for 2 weeks. A sprint should feel fast, feel hard, feel uncomfortable. You should take a break after a sprint. Consider a working HIIT session.
It’s ‘moments over systems’ in practice. I can’t reliably block off time, but I can be opportunistic about the time presented to me.
Conclusion
Putting these together, I realize struggling to get started is being trapped by the Nirvana fallacy: You don’t start today because there could be better conditions tomorrow. When in fact, these are lies we tell ourselves, mental labor we bear. If we were to look at it, we would see that it is pointless. We can throw it away. We can walk lighter, freer.
You don’t need motivation to start; you need to start to build motivation. You don’t need a system or a plan to take action; you need to take action before you have a system. You don’t need to make an appointment with your future self; you just need to move.