We’ve all got tasks that we put off. They’re so embarrassing (or boring or smelly or frustrating or icky or scary or money-related) that we cringe just thinking about them. They’re always pushed to the absolute bottom of the to-do list. So on top of the dread of the task, we end up with a painful emotion sundae: a bowl of dread with shame fudge, sprinkled with guilt and adorned with a nagging-internal-voice cherry. Yum.

For today’s mission we need to spend just 5 minutes on the icky stuff. Set an alarm clock and work it as hard as you can, no more excuses. By the time the bell goes, you’ll have a weight off your shoulders and at least one much-delayed job finished. It might feel so good to have the damn thing gone that you do another one…