We all have tasks we avoid. They’re to-dos we feel uncomfortable with for some reason.

They might be big or they might be small.

For example, recently, I needed to find a way to courier a document to myself from overseas. I know how to send a document from the US (where I live) to another country, but the reverse route was unfamiliar. I’d had this task on my to-do list for several weeks, and it was lingering in an annoying, slightly draining way.

Tasks we avoid can be those:

That we’re doing for the first time

That require extreme attention to detail, like not getting numbers wrong

That are inherently emotional (like death- or health-related)

That we resent having to do

That have accumulated mental load from past avoidance

That have accumulated mental load for some other reason, e.g., because our past self wasn't as skilled at them as our current self can be, and we’re carrying that

Even if you have no interest in using AI, recognizing the above categories and how they’re linked to your sense of burden can help enough to get you moving on an avoided to-do item.

3 Ways to Use AI to Get Past Avoidance

These strategies can still be used by those who are unimpressed by AI and who would generally like it involved in........

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