How to Get Unstuck

1. Getting Stuck is Normal, But Don't Stay There

It’s okay to be stuck, but we don’t want to stay stuck.

Everyone gets stuck. Whether in big life decisions or small daily tasks, feeling blocked or ineffective is a universal experience, even for historical figures like Mark Twain or the apostle Paul. Being stuck often signals you're attempting important, challenging things.
Stuckness is frustrating. It manifests as not knowing where you're headed, hitting obstacles, or feeling overwhelmed by distractions and demands. This prevents us from accomplishing what truly matters and living up to our potential.
The good news. Getting unstuck is possible. By understanding the causes and applying principles of personal effectiveness within a God-centered framework, you can break free from productivity obstacles and live out your purpose more fully.

2. True Unstuckness is God-Centered Flourishing

For Christ to be at the center of our being unstuck means that we do all that we do for him and in his power.

Beyond just productivity. Being unstuck isn't merely about getting more done or achieving worldly success; it's about living in alignment with God's purposes. If Christ isn't at the center, even achieving everything you want means you're smoothly sailing to the wrong destination.
Biblical vision. The Bible calls us to be "always abounding in the work of the Lord" (1 Cor. 15:58), which means doing God's work abundantly and wholeheartedly. This includes enduring hardship ("labor") and being "steadfast, immovable" – stuck on the right things.
Flourishing is holistic. Being unstuck connects to biblical themes like freedom (to follow Christ), shalom (complete well-being with God at the center), joy (in Christ), and service (living for a purpose greater than oneself). It's a positive concept of living a full, authentic life that makes a difference for others and God's glory.

3. Overcoming Stuckness Requires Skill, Not Just Will

With productivity, we tend to assume too quickly that the chief problem people have is lack of will rather than lack of skill.

The willpower fallacy. Assuming that people can overcome productivity issues simply by deciding to try harder overlooks the complexity of the problem. Often, the barrier isn't a lack of desire but a lack of the necessary skills, mind-sets, and tools.
Skill-will matrix. Performance depends on both will (desire) and skill (ability). We often misdiagnose lack of skill as lack of will, leading to unhelpful judgment instead of providing the needed training and support.
Change must be grown. True, lasting change in productivity comes from building capacity – developing the right mind-set, skills, and tools – rather than just trying to force new behaviors through sheer willpower. This process takes time and perseverance.

4. Shift from Urgency to Importance

What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.

The core issue. Since we can't do everything, we must choose how to spend our time. The fundamental challenge is that urgent things (those that press upon us) often crowd out important things (those aligned with our goals and principles).
The Four Quadrants. This framework helps distinguish tasks:

• Q1: Urgent & Important (Crises, deadlines)
• Q2: Important & Not Urgent (Planning, preparation, relationships)
• Q3: Urgent & Not Important (Interruptions, busywork for others)
• Q4: Not Urgent & Not Important (Distractions, time wasters)
  Act from importance. Effective time management means operating primarily from Q2, investing in important things before they become urgent crises. This requires personal leadership and character, as Q2 tasks don't demand immediate attention like Q1 or Q3.

5. Character is the Root of Effectiveness

Our paradigms are the maps of our minds and hearts out of which our attitudes and behaviors and the results in our lives grow.

Paradigms matter. Our worldview, or paradigm – the way we see and feel about the world – is the fundamental source of our attitudes and actions. To achieve significant, lasting change in our effectiveness, we must address and change our underlying paradigms, not just behaviors or techniques.
Inside-out change. True growth, in both faith and productivity, happens from the inside out. It's about heart change and transformed affections, not just external behavior modification. This change emerges organically from a renewed paradigm.
Humility and principles. Knowing what's truly important comes from aligning with correct principles and God's truth. Character, especially humility (holding power for the good of others), enables us to discern these principles and base our lives and decisions on them, making us truly effective.

6. Vision is the Compass for Your Life

Vision is the fundamental force that drives everything else in our lives.

Direction and purpose. Vision defines where you want to go and why it matters. Without a clear vision, you lack direction and purpose, making it easy to get stuck or wander aimlessly, even if you're busy.
Power and motivation. A compelling vision ignites passion, taps into higher purpose, and provides intrinsic motivation. It draws you forward, making it easier to overcome obstacles and say no to less important things.
Focus and unity. Vision provides a framework for decision-making, helping you prioritize and focus on what truly contributes to your goals. A shared vision also unifies teams, enabling collective effort towards a common, inspiring future.

7. Your Work is Part of God's Mission

Christians today need to understand how to live healthy and productive lives, not only in the home but especially in the workplace.

Beyond the sacred/secular divide. God's mission is to renew all things, and our work in the world is a vital part of this. Being "missional" means consciously participating with God in his work through our ordinary vocations, not just through traditional church activities.
Impact culture. Our work is a primary way we interact with and shape culture. By working according to Christian values like love, generosity, and excellence, we contribute to the common good and create environments where people can flourish.
Holistic witness. Skeptics are often convinced not just by arguments, but by observing Christians living out their faith winsomely in all areas of life, including work. Re-embracing a biblical doctrine of work is crucial for the church's influence in society and for advancing the gospel.

8. Be a Professional with a Generous Ethic

Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don’t feel like doing them.

Consistency matters. Being a professional means showing up and delivering consistent, excellent results regardless of how you feel. It's about building a career out of your ability to produce reliably over time, not just having occasional bursts of brilliance.
Reject detachment. True professionalism isn't about being emotionally distant or merely transactional. The best work is done with passion, care, and emotional engagement. This "emotional labor" is essential for doing great work and building trust.
Generosity is key. A true professional ethic includes generosity – sharing knowledge, networks, and compassion with colleagues and genuinely seeking to serve customers' needs. This not only reflects Christian values but also builds a powerful personal brand and enhances effectiveness.

9. Preparation Builds Capacity for Action

Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.

Skill is built. While desire is important, it's insufficient without the necessary knowledge and skill. Preparation is the process of building your abilities, enabling you to understand situations, envision effective approaches, and use less energy on tasks.
Why preparation works. Becoming highly skilled moves routine aspects of tasks to autopilot, freeing up mental energy for higher-level challenges and creativity. This is supported by neuroscience:

• Tasks on autopilot use less mental energy.
• This frees up conscious attention for complex problems.
• Practice builds "intuition" by automating components.
  Prepare deeply. Go beyond surface-level knowledge to understand fundamentals, history, and underlying principles. Practice deliberately, not just repetitively, and create mental models by applying knowledge and testing theories.

10. Manage Your Time, Not Just Your Tasks

Effective executives, in my observation, do not start with their tasks. They start with their time.

The scarcity principle. The supply of tasks is infinite, but time is finite. Starting with tasks leads to overwhelm; starting with time allows you to contain tasks and focus on the most essential. Time is the scarcest resource, more so than money or people.
Time's unique nature. Time is inelastic (supply never increases), perishable (cannot be stored), irreplaceable (no substitute), and necessary (everything requires it). Effective people treat time with "tender loving care."
Drucker's process. To manage time effectively:

1. Track your time: Record where it actually goes (don't rely on memory).
2. Eliminate time wasters: Cut unproductive demands (personal habits, bad meetings, etc.).
3. Consolidate time: Group remaining discretionary time into large, continuous blocks for important work.

11. Prioritize by Exclusion and Concentration

The job, however, is not to set priorities. That is easy. Everybody can do it. The reason why so few executives concentrate is the difficulty of setting ‘posteriorities’—that is, deciding what tasks not to tackle—and of sticking to the decision.

Focus is key. Effectiveness requires concentration – doing first things first and doing one thing at a time. Since you always have more to do than time allows, you must focus on the few tasks that will produce outstanding results.
Human limits. Most people can effectively focus on at most two large tasks simultaneously. Trying to do more scatters your energy and results in less progress overall.
Posteriorities are crucial. Setting priorities is easy; the challenge is setting "posteriorities" – deciding what not to do and sticking to it. This radical exclusion is necessary to protect your focus and ensure your priorities get the time and energy they need to be completed.

12. Deep Work is the New Productivity Superpower

Deep work is the practice of focusing “without distraction on a cognitively demanding task.”

High-quality work equation. High quality work produced = time spent × intensity of focus. To increase output and quality, you must increase your intensity of focus, which is achieved through deep work.
Flow state. Deep work often leads to the flow state – being totally absorbed, highly effective, and finding the activity intrinsically rewarding. This is the opposite of feeling stuck or frazzled.
Strategies for deep work:

• Put it in your schedule: Choose a philosophy (Monk, Bimodal, Rhythmic, Journalistic) that fits your context.
• Protect your energy: Do creative work first, reactive work second. Aim for 3-4 hours of deep work daily. End your workday at a definite time to allow for recharge and unconscious processing.
• Fight distractions: Understand why they're harmful (attention residue, Zeigarnik effect) and build habits to minimize them.

Last updated: May 2, 2025