A variety of things can stress us out unnecessarily. This post focuses on one category in particular: manageable tasks that take up more mental space than they should. These tasks aren't overly difficult and might only take 30 minutes to a couple of hours—but they still create mental stress. Why?

First, I'll explain five psychological reasons why some relatively mundane tasks feel stressful, then offer a practical cheat sheet to help you move forward despite the stress.

We all have preferences when it comes to how we approach tasks. Some people lean toward creative or unconventional methods and resist anything that feels too standard. Some of us like to maximize (achieve the best possible result), while others prefer to satisfice (efficiently meet all the key requirements). You might like to make perfect plans—or you might prefer to act and iterate, like someone who either reads the full instruction manual or just dives in and adjusts as they go. You might like well-defined tasks or feel more comfortable with fuzzy ones. You might prefer to work collaboratively or independently. Maybe you want milestones where an authority figure checks off........

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