Doing things is not stressful

This is The Nooner, a short daily (Monday - Saturday) newsletter slash podcast that has its very own section within Dispatches from Inner Space.

Every Sunday, I publish the Dispatches Weekly Digest (DWD), which lets you binge all the Nooners from the previous week. It also includes a meaningful song recommendation, and a short segment I call TMI, where I go off script to bring you backstage, so to speak.

The DWD goes on on the main Dispatches channel, so if you’re looking to spare your inbox from the daily emails without missing out on anything, you can specifically unsubscribe from The Nooner section, and still get the Digest on Sunday.

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Let’s look at an example

I have to make a presentation for work. I spend weeks putting it off. Thinking about it. Fearing it. Coming up with excuses not to get started.

And then, instead of just starting, I look for shortcuts. AI tools that could do it for me. Anything that might save me from having to do it myself. None of the tools work. I’m more frustrated than ever. This whole thing is so stressful why did I volunteer to do this stupid presentation in the first place I hate this.

But then, all other options having been depleted, I actually get to work. I start making decisions about what kind of template I’ll use. I start formatting the titles and content. I realize I need to rearrange the content so that this goes here and that goes there.

Suddenly, it’s been over two hours, and I’ve made a really good start. The workday is over, and I have to wait until tomorrow to keep going, but I don’t want to. I’d work for another three or four hours if I could. But I can’t, so I set it aside and feel excited to get back to it tomorrow.

Now, off and on for the rest of the evening, and then into the next morning, I’m thinking about all the work I have left to do on the presentation. How long is it going to take? There are still a bunch of elements I’m not sure how and whether to include. Is there a way to play audio on one of the slides?

I’m back to being stressed. So I put it off. I’ll start in the afternoon. Then it’s the afternoon, and there are other things that seem more pressing anyway. I’ll get back to it tomorrow.

Tomorrow comes, and the stress is worse, thanks to all the time I’ve had to think about all the problems I don’t know how to solve yet. But I don’t have time to put it off anymore. It has to be done by the end of the day.

So I reopen the project. It’s like pulling teeth to get myself in front of it again.

But then, oh look, I can actually use this over here, and fit that bit in over there, and let me just go ahead and research what’s the best way to play audio during a presentation like this.

This is not a unique experience for myself or anyone else. The principle is universal. Doing things is not stressful. Not doing them is what drives us out of our minds.

So the next time you feel stressed about some task, try to remember that the easiest and fastest and most effective way to feel calm again is to just get started.