To start a big task, describe what you need to produce, then choose an action you can actually take now. “Prepare the presentation” could begin with “write the three questions it needs to answer”. If that action is still impossible, check what is missing: information, a document, time or a decision.

When “get started” does not tell you what to do

“Prepare the presentation” contains several jobs: choosing the questions, gathering useful material, making the slides and reviewing them. It names an outcome without necessarily identifying your next action.

Ask what you would open if you started now. If you cannot answer, make the task more specific. If you know exactly what to do but keep putting it off, something else may be involved: uncertainty about the result, another constraint or not wanting to do the task. Breaking it down cannot explain every difficulty.

Make the first action specific enough

A useful action names a verb and an object. For example:

  • “Prepare the presentation” → “write the three questions the presentation needs to answer”.
  • “Do the admin” → “find the letter requesting a document”.
  • “Look for a placement” → “open one vacancy and check which documents it asks for”.

Adapt these to the work. Opening a file can be a first action, but if you still do not know what to do inside it, add the question to examine or the section to return to.

Break it down without planning every detail

An initial breakdown of the presentation might be: write the questions to cover, gather the material needed to answer them, then prepare a first version. You can fill in details as that version develops.

More steps do not automatically make a better method. Include enough detail to know what to do without listing every click. If the work depends on an answer from someone else, asking that question may come before further preparation.

Choose a time when the action is possible

Look at the conditions the task needs. Calling an office means checking its opening hours. Writing a page may need a gap between meetings. Set aside time for the chosen action, rather than necessarily for the whole project.

You can try a short session and then check where you have got to. No particular duration guarantees that you will want to continue. If you are too tired for the planned work, postpone what can wait or choose a different action. Taking a break does not have to count as failing the session.

Leave yourself a way back in

Before closing the work, write the next action and keep the document somewhere you can find it. For example: “Questions agreed; figures in the document; return to slide two to illustrate the point about delays.”

This note saves another review of everything when you return. If you postpone again, check the specific reason. Is there still a figure to verify, or has the task changed? Choosing what to do when everything piles up is a separate problem from starting a project you have already chosen.

Ask Molleva for small steps

Molleva can suggest a breakdown of an essential. Read the small steps, adjust them and keep the ones that fit. Basic task breakdown is free; Premium adds alternatives and context.

A suggestion may not know the information you need to present or the audience you are addressing. Check the steps before following them. See a task breakdown in Molleva.

Questions before you begin

Will starting make me want to keep going?

Not always. The first action mainly lets you see what the task requires. You might continue, discover an obstacle or stop when you planned to. Momentum is not guaranteed.

Should I break down every task?

No. If “call the garage back” already tells you what to do and you have the number, a breakdown may add nothing. Use it for broad tasks or an unclear first action.

What if I know the action but still put it off?

Look at what is holding you back. Is information missing, is the result uncertain or is the deadline unrealistic?