Today’s Idea

Every project has a “doorstep mile” (the hardest distance you’ll cover is from thinking to starting).

Once you’re moving, the path is rarely as tough as the beginning.

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The Doorstep Mile

The Norwegians have a word for it: dørstokkmila—the “doorstep mile.”

It doesn’t describe distance so much as resistance. The unseen weight of leaving the comfort of home for the effort of a run. The silent drag of staring at a blank page before writing the first line. The invisible force that keeps you refreshing your inbox instead of starting the task you’ve postponed all week.

The doorstep mile is universal. It shows up in every human endeavor where action feels harder than inaction. The irony is that the idea of starting is usually far more painful than the reality of doing.

Psychologists link it to what’s called “anticipatory anxiety.” We overestimate the cost of effort and underestimate our ability to cope with it. Running five kilometers? Your brain imagines exhaustion, cold air, and burning lungs. But once you’re a few steps in, your body adjusts. Writing a proposal? You picture hours of grinding concentration. But once the first sentence is down, the rest flows more easily.

The doorstep mile is why people procrastinate, why gym memberships go unused, why brilliant ideas never make it off the whiteboard. It’s not the work itself that defeats us—it’s the resistance at the start.

Writers like Ernest Hemingway had tricks for this. Hemingway ended his writing sessions mid-sentence, so the next day he wouldn’t face a blank page. Athletes use rituals: the same warm-up, the same playlist, the same routine that eases them past the door. Entrepreneurs sometimes force a public commitment so backing out feels more painful than starting.

Across cultures and disciplines, the lesson is the same: getting started is disproportionately hard. But once you push through, momentum carries you forward.

How You Can Apply This

1. Make the start laughably small. Tell yourself you’ll just put on your shoes, or write one sentence. Often, that’s all you need to overcome inertia.

2. Remove friction. Lay out gym clothes the night before. Open the draft before you shut your laptop. Reduce the steps between you and starting.

3. Use a five-minute rule. Commit to five minutes. If it’s awful, you can quit. Most of the time, five minutes turns into thirty.

4. Pair with a cue. Attach the task to an existing habit—coffee finished means open the notebook, shutting Slack means pick up the phone.

5. Celebrate initiation. Reward yourself for starting, not finishing. Over time, you’ll train your brain to crave the beginning instead of dreading it.

What To Remember

Until next time,

— Quiet Moves