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TFS has stuck again. TFS, or Task Fear Syndrome, is a condition that I named. The symptoms are anxiety, depression, anger, remorse, guilt and sadness. It is caused by avoiding important tasks that need to be done next. There may or may not be a written tasklist, but irrespective it is usually the "next" thing that needs to be done in life. The task is often one of two types:

1. A very large ambiguous task with no clear beginning, end or milemarkers. Common tasks are thesis, re/design projects, new ventures (like a business or lifestyle change).

2. SImple tasks that require an action which is emotionally uncomfortable. Common tasks are making certain phone calls (calling someone you are worried about what they think), paying bills (when it raises other financial issues), cleaning (when the stuff will reveal uncomfortable issues or when it's "not fair") and writing in your blog.

Yep, this is an emotionally challenging task for me. I'm always worried about what people think. A normal thing, but it causes me to avoid certain tasks. Since I've started working, I haven't written in my blog because I felt I didn't have anything "good" to say. The truth is that I was avoiding the task because I was afraid to stop and say something. Anything.

The last time I had a serious case of TFS was during my thesis. I would avoid the entire project because I was afraid of doing the "wrong" thing. The thing is, doing nothing was worse then doing the "wrong" thing. Often times the "wrong" thing is just a deviation from the optimal course. If we use the analogy of driving, the optimal path is the shortest path from the current location to the destination. The "wrong" thing in this case could be an error in driving through a wrong turn, or finding out that there was a shorter path. However, it is rarely the case when timing is so critical that losing a 15 minutes when driving will ruin your life. But, not driving at all guarentees that you wll never make it to the destination. So what's worse? A scenic route that makes you an hour late or not ever leaving?

This is the reasoning that I use to overcome TFS. When I'm confronted by a task that I don't want to do, I now evaluate the stakes and recognize that I have more to lose by doing nothing then taking a "Wrong" path. Moreover, I think back to other emotionally difficult tasks I have recently done and recognize that they were not nearly as difficult once I actually started "driving".