The Two-Minute Rule
I really like James Clear's Two-Minute Rule1. The idea is simple: when developing a habit, stick to a minimum threshold that qualifies - say, two minutes. When those two minutes are up, you are free to abandon the task for the day.
For most people, for most actions, the resistance lies in the beginning, in actually getting down to doing the thing. Oftentimes, once you get started, that first push is all you had needed. You blow past the two minute mark and keep steaming on. On those days, it turns out that the activity is not all that bad.
And on days when it turns out to actually be all that bad, well, it's only two minutes. It'll be done before you know it, and then your commitment is over. You've achieved what you needed to.
I've found this a useful framework to adapt for different kinds of goals - physical activity, dealing with a backlog of email, keeping up this daily publishing streak. Just get started, set a minimum threshold to cross (duration, quantity, whatever), and see where that takes you. It emphasizes a focus on the process rather than outcomes, on letting perfection not be the enemy of the good.
This quote forms the crux of the idea:
We rarely think about change this way because everyone is consumed by the end goal. [...] It’s far better to do less than you hoped than to do nothing at all.
I've been writing for about 8 minutes now, and I think that's quite enough for the day.