3 Things I Do to Get Things Done

I usually start new tasks, jobs, or activities quite easily. But I struggle to complete them. Starting quickly is a nice trait; however, if you don’t finish what you start, it generally doesn’t matter how quickly you began.

Having this personality made me reflect on how to actually complete things — how to stay disciplined after getting halfway through a task. Over time, I’ve discovered three things that help:

• Consuming relevant content (inspired by Bilgem Çakır)
• Habit stacking (from Atomic Habits by James Clear)
• Just start

Consuming Relevant Content

This idea still fascinates me, even years after I first heard it. I came across it in one of Bilgem Çakır’s videos, where he described it as a "motivation cheat." The concept is simple: consume content that’s relevant to the task you want to accomplish. That task could be solving a tough programming problem, recording a video, or anything else.The content can be anything — a YouTube video, a book, a blog post, a podcast — as long as it relates to your task.

For me, it’s mostly YouTube videos. If I need to tackle a task I’ve been putting off, I watch a software engineer vlog. It magically gives me the energy to work on my current task. Ideally, you should watch YouTubers whose content you genuinely enjoy. I even go back and watch some of their older videos for motivation — and it works like magic every time.

Habit Stacking

If you’ve read Atomic Habits, you probably already know what I’m about to say. If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend reading it. I won’t explain it in as much detail as the book does, but the idea is simple: when trying to build a new habit, you can "stack" it onto an existing one — that is, add a small task before doing your main task.

For example, before I start working, I always tidy up my desk and my work environment — and I’ve been doing this for a long time. So now, whenever I tidy up my desk, it sends a strong signal to my brain that it's time to start working.

These days, my routine usually goes like this: I tidy up my desk, prepare a cup of tea, and then start working. I also use this method in my morning routine: I do some mobility drills, eat a banana, exercise, read a book, and take my supplements.

Just Start

That’s it — while you’re busy thinking about why you shouldn’t do it or why you have to, just start. For a moment, stop thinking about how much you dislike the task. Just grab the pencil, laptop, camera — whatever you need — and begin.

Plus, here’s one more trick that works really well for me: tell yourself, “I’ll just start and do it for 5 minutes.” I guarantee it won’t stay at just 5 minutes. Once you’ve started, you’ve already overcome one of the hardest parts — and you’ll likely keep going until you hit the next challenge.

Recently, I had a few boring tasks at work. I told myself I’d just check the issue and that’s it — I’d stop right after. But, as expected, I didn’t stop there. I ended up progressing to the next challenge within the same task.

These are the three things I do regularly to help me complete tasks or find motivation. Maybe they’re not secret weapons, but they work perfectly well for me.