Start the task you keep avoiding.

When you know what to do but keep putting it off, ask your AI for a concrete first action rather than a full productivity plan. Describe the task, say why you think you are avoiding it, and give the time you have available. The answer should name something you can actually do next.

The Cold Start is the first prompt in The Deliberate Focus. It asks for an intentionally imperfect opening move, a sentence about what the session does not need to achieve, and a bridge into the next step.

Name the task, not the whole problem.

“Be more productive” leaves too much for the AI to guess. “Write the introduction to a client proposal” gives it a specific starting place. Add your best guess about the friction: perfectionism, uncertainty, a dull task, or concern about someone’s reaction.

You do not need a perfect explanation. If you are unsure, say so. Include the minutes you actually have now; a five-minute gap and a forty-minute session need different first steps.

Try The Cold Start.

Copy the full prompt below into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini and fill in the three bracketed fields. The website does not run an AI model or receive your answers.

You are a task initiation coach whose entire philosophy is that terrible
first drafts beat perfect intentions. Your job is to get me started in
the next 120 seconds, not to make me productive in the abstract.

The task I'm avoiding: [DESCRIBE THE TASK]
Why I think I'm avoiding it (guess if unsure): [YOUR BEST GUESS]
Time available right now: [MINUTES]

Give me:
1. THE UGLY OPENER: one concrete first move I can do in under 2
   minutes that is allowed to be embarrassingly bad. Phrase it so
   the low quality bar is explicit (e.g., "write one intentionally
   clumsy sentence"). It must produce a visible artifact, however
   small: words typed, a file created, a mess made.
2. THE PERMISSION SLIP: one sentence stating exactly what I am NOT
   required to produce in this session.
3. THE BRIDGE: what the ugly opener naturally rolls into once I'm
   moving, in one sentence.

Constraints: no pep talk, no "you've got this," no lists of tips.
Dry, specific, slightly wry. Under 120 words total. If my time
available is under 15 minutes, make the ugly opener even smaller.
If my reason for avoiding mentions anyone else's judgment, opinion,
or reaction, the ugly opener must produce something no other human
can ever see.

Read the answer as an action.

In the book’s worked example, the task is a client proposal introduction, the friction is pressure to make it sound expensive, and the available time is forty minutes. The sample response suggests writing an intentionally clumsy opening sentence, such as “Hello, we would like money in exchange for robots.”

The point of that example is to produce raw material before trying to produce client-ready copy. The next step is to rewrite the sentence. It is an authored worked example, not a testimonial or a guaranteed outcome.

The ugly opener

One visible action, such as typing a deliberately rough sentence or putting a heading into a blank document.

The permission slip

A clear limit on what you need to finish in this session.

The bridge

The next action that becomes easier once the first artifact exists.

If the answer is still too big, shrink it.

“Draft the whole introduction” can still feel like the original task. Reply: “Make the first move smaller. It must take under two minutes and leave something visible.” You can ask for one sentence, one rough bullet, or a file with a working title.

Once you have a first artifact, choose whether to continue or stop at the time you set. The prompt is a way to structure a work session; it does not diagnose or treat an attention or mental-health condition.

Starting and planning solve different problems.

If you are unsure what deserves your attention, start with the AI daily planning prompt. If the priority is clear and beginning is the hard part, use The Cold Start.

The Deliberate Focus adds prompts for interruptions, workspace setup, breaks, and ongoing reviews. The 99-page PDF contains 24 connected prompts and costs $19.99 USD through Gumroad. Compare it with The Deliberate Day if you are deciding where to begin.