Jesus Palominos

By Jesus Palominos

There are days when the tasks in front of you seem impossible, not because they actually are, but because you simply don’t feel like doing them. I believe that’s just part of being human. But perhaps you’re like me, and you don’t always have the luxury of putting things off. Sometimes, whether you feel like it or not, things need to get done.

As a visually impaired classical guitarist, music professor, and president of a nonprofit organization, I often find myself juggling more responsibilities than I would like. Between grading papers, preparing lessons for my college and private students, practicing guitar, managing a nonprofit, raising money to support my nonprofit, the Coachella Valley Guitar Society, and, of course, being a husband, there are days when it seems as though there simply aren’t enough hours.

But this isn’t about time management. No, this is about something much simpler: how to get started when you just don’t feel like doing the work.

For me, it begins with being honest with myself. I mean the kind of honesty that sometimes hurts, but not in a way that destroys your confidence. Sometimes I have legitimate reasons for not wanting to do something. Perhaps I’m exhausted, overwhelmed, or simply in need of rest. Other times, however, I’m just being lazy. Yes, I said it. Sometimes I simply don’t feel like doing the work, even when I know I should.

And I think that’s perfectly human.

The important thing is recognizing the difference between genuinely needing rest and making excuses because you don’t feel like doing something. There’s no reason to beat yourself up about it. Feeling guilty isn’t going to grade those papers or help you learn that difficult piece of music.

So what do you do?

For me, whether it’s practicing classical guitar for an upcoming recital or grading assignments after promising my students timely feedback, there’s one strategy that consistently helps me get started.

It comes from an old saying that I find both cheesy and a little cringey:

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

I know what you’re thinking. You’ve spent all this time reading just for me to tell you something you’ve probably heard a thousand times!

But hear me out.

The problem isn’t necessarily that we don’t know we should take the first step. It’s that we often make that first step unnecessarily large.

When you don’t feel like doing something, make the goal smaller, not the effort.

By effort, I mean the care and attention I give the task—not the amount of time I spend on it.

Let me explain what I mean.

As a classical guitarist, there are days when I don’t feel like practicing, even when I have a recital coming up. I might have an entire piece that needs attention, but the thought of practicing the whole thing seems exhausting.

Rather than telling myself that I need to practice for an hour, I might decide to work on just two or four measures of the most difficult section.

However, here’s the important part: I’m not simply going to play those measures a few times and call it a day.

I’m going to give those measures my complete attention.

Perhaps there’s a difficult shift in my left hand that keeps causing mistakes. I’ll isolate that movement, slow it down, examine my fingering, and work toward making it more accurate and consistent.

My goal isn’t to spend a certain amount of time holding my guitar. My goal is to accomplish something specific.

Even if I practice for only five minutes, those five minutes have a purpose. I may not have mastered the passage, but if I’ve identified a problem and made even a small improvement, that practice session has been productive.

Now, let’s apply that same principle to something that has nothing to do with music.

Suppose I have twenty papers to grade, and I really don’t feel like grading any of them. Instead of focusing on all twenty, I might tell myself that I’m going to start with just four.

But I’m not going to rush through those four papers simply to get them out of the way. I’m going to read them carefully and provide my students with meaningful feedback.

I’ve made the task smaller, but I haven’t lowered the quality of my work.

Of course, the remaining sixteen papers still need to be graded, and I still have a responsibility to provide feedback by the promised deadline. Making the goal smaller doesn’t mean abandoning my responsibilities. It means finding a manageable way to begin fulfilling them.

Here’s something else I’ve noticed. Sometimes, after grading those four papers, I think, “Well, maybe I’ll grade another four.”

The same thing happens with classical guitar. After working on a few measures, I might decide to continue practicing another section.

Before I know it, I’ve accomplished much more than I originally intended.

But here’s what I want you to understand: That isn’t the point of the strategy.

If I grade only four papers during that session, I’ve still accomplished something. If I make a meaningful improvement in only two measures of a difficult composition, I’ve still made progress.

The goal was never to trick myself into working for hours. The goal was to accomplish something meaningful instead of doing nothing at all.

Choose an objective small enough to begin, but meaningful enough to deserve your full attention.

In fact, I would argue that accomplishing one small task with purpose can sometimes be more valuable than spending hours working without a clear objective.

I don’t believe we need to feel inspired every time we have something important to accomplish. Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but what happens when it doesn’t?

The work still needs to get done.

So the next time you find yourself avoiding something, whether it’s practicing an instrument, studying for an exam, writing a paper, exercising, or completing a project, try something different.

Ask yourself: What’s one small, meaningful part of this task I can work on right now?

Choose that one objective. Make sure it’s something that requires genuine effort but is realistic enough that you can begin. Give it your complete attention rather than worrying about everything else you need to finish.

And when you’ve accomplished that objective, decide what comes next. Perhaps you’ll continue working. Perhaps you’ll stop for the moment and return to the remaining work later.

Either way, you’ve taken a meaningful step forward.

Remember, the purpose isn’t to see how much work you can squeeze into the day. It’s to make the work you choose to do count.

Make the goal smaller, not the effort.