It sounds like you have a lot on your plate, and that kind of accumulation of responsibilities can be super stressful and hard to face. I’ve been there, a lot of people have. I think being really blunt with yourself might be the best path forward.

Each day you have things you need to do and you make a decision. Either you’re doing to get things done and make your life better, or you’re not.

• YOU decide if you want to have one less thing to do tomorrow, or the same shit
• YOU decide if you want to get one step closer to your goals or stay where you are
• YOU decide if you want to feel proud of getting something done today or feel regret
• YOU decide if you’re tired of feeling guilt and shame or if you want to feel more

We both know the right answer is not complicated. It’s hard, but not complicated. If you really want to make things concrete, get a notebook write today’s date on the first line. If you get stuff done today, write this after the date: “I made tomorrow better.” If you hide from responsibilities, write “I want the same problems tomorrow.” Add a line for each day, and you can only write the positive message after you actually get something meaningful done on that day.

Right now your procrastination is hidden. Days turn into weeks and months and it’s kind of fuzzy how much time is being wasted. If you force yourself to write down every day for a week “I want the same problems tomorrow” you will feel something. Likewise, if you start chipping away at things, you can claim progress. It’s okay to start small, and small consistent wins are the best way to move forward. But you cannot keep wasting time. Have you read the No Zero Days reddit comment? Google it if not. You can’t keep having zero days.

You have the power to turn this around. You don’t have to feel ready, and you don’t have to get these tasks right on the first try. You just have to try them. Do you feel scared? It’s okay. You can do it when you feel nervous or anxious. It still gets done. And tomorrow you won’t really care how it felt when you were doing it. You’ll just be glad it’s done. Take small bites out of this elephant of work, try to be as consistent as you can, and give yourself permission to make mistakes and do things even when they’re scary. You just have to start finishing things and stick with it.

Stagnation stops being invisible today. It’s up to you to decide if you want the same problems tomorrow, or if you want to get one step closer to the life you want. No one can do this for you. What’s it going to be?

Further Reading: If this post resonated with you, I highly recommend 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam. While at the surface this is a book about time management, what I like most about it is it forces you to account for where your time goes. The exercises and structure it gives made me admit I waste more time on Reddit and Youtube than I should, and helped me reallocate that time to more purposeful activities. Confronting stagnation and accounting for how you use your time will pave a clear path of how to improve your life.