How often have you thought about doing something? The end.

And…that’s about as far as we get sometimes. Why is it so difficult to get ourselves to do something? Anything? That pile of laundry is an eyesore. That car really needs a wash. I should really try out that new gym…that I signed up for as part of my New Year’s resolutions…eight months ago.

Call it being lazy. Call it being conditioned. Call it being comfortable. At the end of the day, call it what it is, an excuse. We love to sit and think about all the things we need to do, or get done, or should’ve already started doing; only to simply sigh, make up an excuse and go back to wishing it was already done.

So here’s a little trick, which I call one-minute starts. One minute. Less time than it takes for you to use the bathroom. Less time than it takes to microwave popcorn. Less time than it takes to actually come up with an excuse to actually not do something. Whatever it is you wanted to start doing. Just do it for one minute! That’s it!

Want to get in better shape? Just get up and do something physical, for one minute. Walk around the house. Do jumping jacks. Anything, as long as it’s for one minute. Want better mental health? Meditate for one minute. Smile for one minute. Anything…for one minute.

The idea is to jump start your brain. To disrupt that “excuse” center that keeps us from doing what needs to be done.

Now for the hard part. Stop reading this, get up, and begin your first one-minute start.