The most insidious form of deliberation is the one you have with yourself: Rumination. 

To ruminate is to chew over a matter again and again. The point is to break the subject down into useful bits. But the truth is: you can have enough clear useful bits of information to act and still find yourself paralyzed. Because while paralysis can stem from fog, overwhelm, or fixation on outcomes, it can just as easily come from unsupervised rumination about the best course of action. 

And while you ruminate, continuity—the tendency to re-apply effort—suffers. 

One of the insidious things posed by rumination is it rarely presents as a problem. It often shows up as productive thinking. After all, ideas are needed for progress and thinking is one of the things that will bring you ideas. 

But when viewed through the lens of continuity, it reveals itself as a core disruptor. It consumes attention while displacing actual re-engagement that brings progress and outcomes into effect.

Fortunately, the solution is simple and (can be) easy to implement: Have recurring focus time blocks and keep rumination out of those blocks  

Think of the last time you had a deadline. Say, the time you had to deliver a spetacular video to a client. You had ideas for new videos. But instead of taking your camera to shoot the video or developing a script or opening your video software, you spent weeks, thinking:

But two days before the deadline, you developed a scripted, shot a decent video concept, edited, and sent to the client a day after the deadline - taking zero breaks and losing sleep. 

What has to be front and center in mind is: The most important things, particularly the ones 'disturbing' you, don't have deadlines. So, when the interest is to deliver results and outcomes, the approach has to be continuing to show up to accord those things attention and effort. 

Here is how you might do so:

1. Use a timer and the 90–30 rule:
   • 90 minutes of focused work, then 30 minutes of break or open-ended time.
2. Maintain an "Important Tasks" list:
   • At the start of a 90-minute focus block, pick one task to focus on. Tasks are picked following the numbering on the list: first 90 minutes – Task 1; second 90 minutes – Task 2. The aim is to give at least one 90-minute focus session to each task regularly and consistently.
3. Use conversation-style journaling to facilitate entry into focus on a task:
   • In moments of resistance, write out thoughts like you’re talking to yourself.
4. Keep an in-basket note nearby:
   • During focused sessions, jot down interruptions, thoughts, or worries that arise—without engaging with them.

Enjoy!