The First Hurdle - 5 Practical Ways to Overcome Overthinking and Start Now

Run clubs in Brooklyn, NY, and Houston, TX, seem exciting, but I've never enjoyed running. And no, I’m not about to tell you how I fell in love with it. Instead, I want to share how focusing on a single hurdle helped me learn an important lesson about starting—even when something feels overwhelming.

The first hurdle is scary.

In high school, my friends all started joining the track team. I declined - I wasn't a fan of running. Then one day in PE, there were hurdles on the track. Thankfully, it wasn't for a class activity - because if there's anything I like less it's failing with a rapt audience.

I inspected one up close, checking its height and the fact that it could fall if I hit it. But trying to clear it was another story.

I first attempted to step over it, which didn’t work. A slow run and jump? I froze. I couldn't get my legs to jump. I went back to start. I tried another run and jump and I hit the hurdle. It fell over, thankfully (I might have too, I don't recall). Finally, a friend demonstrated the proper technique: speed and power were key. With some effort, I cleared my first hurdle! Once I got over that first one, the rest didn’t seem as intimidating.

This applies to so much in life and business. When your to-do list, or business plan, or project schedule feels like a track full of hurdles, the key is to focus on just one—the first hurdle.

BEFORE YOU TACKLE THE OVERWHELM WITH PRIORITIZATION TRY THIS

The needs of your business can be overwhelming, add on to that your life responsibilities, bills, parenting, your other job, and you might be looking for any opportunity for a stress nap. "It'll be better when I wake up." "I just want to turn off my brain for awhile." Rather than suggest you tackle that overwhelm with some prioritization, I'll tell you to start with honesty.

"I don't know what to do first", and "I don't have time to prioritize" are other procrastination tools. When we can only see the many hurdles in the race it can be debilitating. It all feels like too much and now we can't act.

Here's the thing. You know exactly what it is you have to do, you're just not doing it. Those emails you were supposed to send, that meeting you were supposed to schedule, that offer you were supposed to promote. There are a variety of reasons for not doing it which you might say are time, fatigue, and ability - "I don't have the time", I am so tired", "I just can't" - but often it is perfectionism, fear of failure, and lack of self-confidence showing up. If I'm wrong, let me know.

BUT REMEMBER ACTION OVER INACTION

Here are some practical steps to get past overthinking and get started taking action:

1. DO THE HARD THING FIRST

   Pick the hard thing, the one that looms largest in your mind - the one you're dreading - and tackle it first. Some call this "eating the frog" and it works because it clears your mental space and will make the rest of your tasks look easy.

2. PRIORITIZE SIMPLY:

   Use a simple framework (like the Eisenhower Matrix) to categorize tasks as important/not important and urgent/not urgent. Start with the tasks that are important and urgent.

3. DO ANYTHING:

   Feeling stuck because you can’t decide where to start? Just pick something—anything—and get it done. Overthinking leads to inaction; and action is better than endless planning - even small progress builds momentum.

4. QUICK START:

   If you have to prepare before you can begin, then limit your prep time - 3-5 minutes is enough. Then get to doing. Preparation should not become another form of procrastination.

5. BE MESSY:

   Don't worry about doing it perfectly - just get started. Messy progress is better than no progress. "Done is better than perfect" applies to almost every scenario.

   BONUS TIP: ASK FOR HELP

   You don't have to do it all alone. Delegation, whether through hiring (an assistant, or a coach😉), asking friends or family, or brainstorming with peers, can make a huge difference.

IN THE END FOCUS ON DOING RATHER THAN OVERTHINKING

The key here is to avoid overthinking and procrastination, and instead take that first concrete action that you can, even if it's not perfect. Small steps forward are better than no action at all. And when your list starts to look like hurdles down a track don't focus on the whole race, just focus on the first hurdle.