# Task Friction Diagnostic

Use this with [Procrastination as Friction](/articles/procrastination-friction-next-action) to turn
one avoided task into a five-minute start.

## Step 1: Name the task

- Task: ____________________________________________
- How long has it been avoided? ____________________
- Is this one specific task, or does the same pattern cover almost everything you try to do?
  (If it's almost everything, stop here and read the "when this is not friction" section of the
  article before continuing.)

## Step 2: Diagnose the friction

Answer honestly. More than one may apply — circle the one that feels dominant.

| Friction | Ask yourself | Circle if true |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ambiguity | Do I actually know the first concrete step, or does it stay vague? | |
| Emotion | Is there dread, embarrassment, or anxiety attached to this task specifically? | |
| Energy | Would I do this if I weren't tired — is timing the real issue? | |
| Environment | Do I keep getting interrupted or distracted at the exact moment I try? | |
| Skill | Am I unsure how to do a specific part, versus just not doing it? | |
| Consequence | Is there really no near-term cost if I delay this again? | |

Dominant friction: ____________________________________________

## Step 3: The five-minute start

Write a next action that:

- takes 5 minutes or less
- requires no further decision once you start
- directly targets the friction you circled above

Next action: ____________________________________________

## Step 4: The stop point

Write the specific, visible marker of progress after which you are allowed to stop without guilt.

Stop point: ____________________________________________

## The two prompts to reuse

**Diagnose:**

```text
Here is a task I've been avoiding: [describe the task and how long
you've put it off].

Using these six categories — ambiguity, emotion, energy, environment,
skill, consequence — ask me up to three short diagnostic questions to
figure out which friction (or frictions) is actually stopping me. Do
not suggest solutions yet. Just ask questions.
```

**Generate the start and stop point:**

```text
My avoided task is: [task].
The main friction is: [your answer from Step 2].

Give me a next action that takes 5 minutes or less, requires no
decision-making once I start, and directly reduces that specific
friction. Then give me one clear stop point — a moment where I'm
allowed to put it down having made real progress, not just "keep
going until I burn out."
```

## After you stop

- [ ] Did you reach the stop point? (If not, note what actually happened — that's data for
      next time, not a failure.)
- [ ] Is the friction the same tomorrow, or has naming it changed what the task feels like?
- [ ] If this exact task needs another five-minute round tomorrow, repeat Steps 3–4 only —
      the diagnosis from today likely still holds.

If you find yourself running this diagnostic on the same task, or on most tasks, for more than
two weeks without progress, that is a signal to talk to a person — a clinician, employer, tutor,
or coach — rather than to keep decomposing. See
[AI Is Not Therapy](/articles/ai-is-not-therapy).