The essay he cleaned the whole flat to avoid.
“I had nine days to write 2,000 words. I reorganised my wardrobe, deep-cleaned the oven and started a new show. On day eight I wrote the title.”
Tom Whitley, 20 · Second-year history student · Leeds
Shares a house with four others near campus. Plays five-a-side on Wednesdays and works Saturdays in a bike shop.
Tom’s not lazy. Ask anyone who’s watched him play five-a-side. Once he’s going, he flies. The problem is the bit before going, and the more something matters, the longer that bit gets.
So the essay sat there, open in a tab, while the flat got cleaner than it had ever been.
Names and details are illustrative.
The same day, twice.
- 10:00📚 Lecture: Early Modern Europe
- 11:00📝 EssayOpened the doc. Cleaned the kitchen instead.
- 13:00🥪 Lunch
- 14:00📝 Essay, try againWatched one episode. Then four.
- 18:00⚽ Five-a-side
- 10:00📚 Lecture: Early Modern Europe
- 11:15📝 Essay: the first paragraphOne paragraph turned into five.
- 12:15📖 Reading, chapter 4
- 13:00🥪 Lunch
- 14:00📝 Essay: second section
- 16:00🗣️ Seminar
- 18:00⚽ Five-a-side
Three moments, three taps.
- 11:15
One paragraph, not the whole essay
He opened the essay block and tapped Start focus. Phone quiet, one timer, one paragraph. He was still going at noon.
Focus on one thing, phone quiet → - Sunday night
Every reading in one list
The reading list, the essay, the email to his tutor. All of it out of his head and into Lists, with the essay starred.
Get it all out of your head, then give it a day → - 8:50
A plan that took a minute
He said what was on: lecture at ten, essay, reading, seminar at four, football at six. Yoodoo built the day around the fixed bits.
Plan your whole day in a minute, by talking →
He handed it in a day early. He didn't become a different person. Starting just stopped being a decision he had to make.
Your brain type · sound familiar?
Starter.
Once you're going, you fly. Getting going is the hard part, so the big thing keeps sliding to tomorrow.
- Your strengths
- Big energy once you're in. Real bursts of progress. Ideas for days.
- The snag
- The more it matters, the harder it is to begin.
- Do this first
- Pick the big one and press Just start. Five minutes, a timer and one tiny first step.
Find yours in 30 seconds.
Four taps when you open Yoodoo. Then it sets itself up around how your brain actually works.
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