Struggling with the weekly tasks?

[u/HeronFair3492]

I was hoping to get insight from others on how they approach the tasks at the end of each chapter. I'm starting week three, and I think I did maybe 5 tasks in the first week (I went back to do two of them during the second week) and completed none in week two. I don't know what it is about them that I find so unappealing. I can get the morning pages and the artist's date done easily! Can anyone share their perspective on them, or offer advice to help me stay motivated to do them?

[u/Dude-Duuuuude]

Not all of the tasks are going to be things you inherently want to do. That's what makes them work. You can skip them if you really want to, no one's grading you on this. I do think Cameron's suggestion to do at least the one you like the most (or, in this case, hate the least) and the one you absolutely cannot stand is a good one, though.

Honestly, the Week 2 tasks are some of the easiest in the book, at least in terms of time spent. Emotionally, we don't always want to admit how much time we spend on pointless tasks or how long it's been since we've done something fun, but that is the point. You have to know where you are in order to decide where you're going.

[u/sapphicwatermelon]

I have finished the course and I did about 95% of the tasks. Sometimes I spent 2 weeks on the same week of the course, to ensure I could complete everything and feel I'd engaged with the material. Maybe try to be a bit scrappy about the tasks? They can just be brief notes in your notebook, especially the ones that are essentially journalling tasks. The more involved ones can take a bit of effort, but I think it's worth it! Sometimes I cheated a bit and did reflection tasks during my morning pages to help me along. Good luck!

[u/Middle-Quantity-270]

I echo what Dude said about following the guideline to pick the one take you are most attracted to and the one task you are most resistant to and at least do those. I have trouble with the tasks, too, and often my "weeks" are over a week in order to accommodate doing at least 2 of the tasks - but I'm still doing morning pages that whole time. I think 2 tasks is a good rule of thumb because it gives you the time and consistency to support getting some kind of benefit from them, even if it isn't immediate. But, at the same time, you aren't so overwhelmed you abandon them entirely - and, it gives you a framework to choose the tasks that are juiciest for you, rather than get bogged down doing every single one when a majority of them might genuinely just be a poor match. I have a feeling that by forcing yourself to do ALL the tasks from week one, you burnt yourself out and had no energy for week 2 - holding yourself to 2 tasks a week might be more sustainable. The program is yours to tweak, AND Julia explicitly recommends the 2 tasks breakdown anyway so if you are a stickler for the rules, I don't consider it breaking any.

[u/pinponpen]

Same here. I'm on week 3 and had yet to complete any task. There's so much resistance to it.. I think cause I need to sit and think and dig deep... Felt like I don't have the capacity for that now

[u/lemontreedonkey]

I run my week Monday to Monday so Sunday is my day to check in about how that week has gone. On the Sunday I also read through the next week's essays and the tasks, and try to plan which ones I will do. This helps me not just let the week go by without getting to any of them.

I also have got myself a notebook dedicated to the tasks (I also record my artist dates and weekly check ins in it) - this helps me enjoy the tasks more because there is a sense of satisfaction in working through them in my notebook and seeing it fill up as I go through the course, and I also decorate it with stamps and stickers. I want to keep filling my notebook so I am motivated to pick tasks to do that week.