The Three Tiers

• Top tier (the decoy) — The task you dread most. Tax filing. A difficult talk. The big report.
• Middle tier (real work) — Important tasks that feel easy by comparison. Client emails. Updating docs. Prepping notes.
• Bottom tier (easy wins) — Near-effortless jobs. Filing papers. Clearing your desk. Tidying your calendar.

Catch yourself avoiding the top tier, and the middle suddenly looks appealing. You will attack a medium task you would normally dread — simply because it is not the worst thing on your list.