After over a decade researching productivity, I’ve come to appreciate a counterintuitive truth: most people don’t struggle with action—they struggle with starting. Idling is the silent killer of progress. Here’s how to break the cycle in five practical steps:
1. Name the Drift
Idling often begins unconsciously. You tell yourself you’ll “start in five minutes” but drift into passive scrolling or low-value tasks. The first step is awareness. Catch yourself mid-idle and name it. Saying “I’m idling” breaks the autopilot.
2. Shrink the Entry Point
We idle when a task feels too big. Instead of saying “I need to write the report”, say “I’ll open the document and write the title”. The smaller the starting point, the lower the resistance. Once in motion, momentum takes care of the rest.
3. Commit Publicly (Lightly)
Tell someone what you’re about to do—no pressure, just gentle accountability. A quick message like, “I’m about to start outlining my notes for 20 mins” creates psychological buy-in. You’re more likely to follow through when someone else knows.
4. Start Using (Simple) Productivity Systems
If you are struggling with idling, starting with something complicated like GTD may be too much. I suggest you use our Mission Critical Productivity System. It’s so simple, it’s almost fail-proof.
5. Ditch All Social Media and TV
Social media should be avoided at all cost. It’s just as bad as legacy media (aka TV). There is simply no benefit and no justification to waste the most precious resource you’ve got (time) on these things. I’ve seen people spending 4-5 hours a day scrolling socials and watching TV. This is quite insane, this is more that a part time job or a side hustle. Imagine if they used this time to become a copwriter of a web designer. Or better – learn SEO 🙂 We have recently poblished a post on how to quit social media in 2025 so go check it out please. We’ve listed 25 good reasons there but you only need one – preserve your most precious resource – TIME
I hope you liked it and more importantly, I hope you will implement it.
Suggested additional reading:
Batching Work vs Daily Consistency
How to Get Ahead of 99% of People Without Doing Anything Fancy
What is a brain dump and how to use it ?