There is a strange phenomenon that happens when you are stressed. Even the smallest task, something that might normally take you five minutes, suddenly feels like climbing Everest barefoot. The email that only needs a quick reply sits in your inbox like a screaming banshee. The dishwasher that simply needs unloading feels like 10 rounds with Oleksandr Usyk. Your brain whispers, “Do it later,” and later becomes a hungry monster that eats away at your peace.
Why does this happen? Science has some answers, and it is not just because we are lazy or hopeless. When you are stressed, your brain’s prefrontal cortex, which handles planning, reasoning and decision-making, is hijacked by the amygdala. That is the part of your brain that goes into fight-or-flight mode. It is brilliant if you are escaping a bear, but less useful when you just need to send an invoice. This hijacking makes even small decisions feel heavier. Your working memory shrinks. Your perspective narrows. A simple task is no longer simple; it is a boulder you are pushing uphill.
Psychologically, there is also what researchers call “task aversion.” When something is associated with a negative feeling, even a faint one, your brain will try to avoid it. That negative feeling grows like mould. A five-minute job becomes a symbol of everything you are failing to keep on top of. The more you avoid it, the bigger it feels. Before you know it, the thing that should take less time than boiling an egg is sucking energy out of you for hours.
Here is the kicker. The stress of avoiding the task is worse than the stress of doing it. Every time you see the task in the corner of your eye, it nudges your nervous system, dripping cortisol into your veins. This is why you might find yourself scrolling through social media or reorganising your sock drawer. It is not that you have lost your mind. It is that your brain would rather do anything than face the thing it has labelled “danger”.
So how do you deal with it without falling into the trap of tired advice like “take a deep breath” or “go for a walk”? Those things are fine, but when you are in the trenches, you need tactics that work with the way your stressed brain is wired, not against it.
One surprisingly effective approach is to shrink the task even more. Tell yourself, “I will just open the document,” or “I will just put one plate away.” Often, once you start, momentum carries you. This is called the “micro-start” technique. It tricks the amygdala because the brain cannot summon as much fear for something tiny.
Another tool is to change the setting. If you always stare at the same screen in the same chair, your body learns to associate that spot with stress. Move. Work from the sofa, the garden, or even the kitchen counter. The novelty jolts your brain out of the stress loop.
Then there is the power of reframing. Instead of thinking, “I have to do this,” say, “I choose to do this now so I can feel relief later.” That small shift pulls the task out of the threat category and into the control category. The brain loves a sense of control.
Also, let’s not underestimate humour. When you are stressed, you take yourself very seriously. Laugh at the ridiculousness of it. Picture yourself as a medieval knight about to slay the Dragon of Dishwashing. Imagine narrating your task in the voice of David Attenborough: “Here we see the stressed human, finally approaching the feared email, fingers trembling as they strike the keys…” Humour reduces cortisol and suddenly the task loses some of its teeth.
Lastly, there is a counterintuitive method: do nothing for two minutes, but do it properly. Sit there and allow the discomfort of not doing the task to wash over you. Often, what happens is the discomfort peaks and then fades. Your brain realises it is not as bad as it thought. When you do stand up to tackle the job, it is with less weight dragging behind you.
Stress magnifies small things into monsters, but with the right tricks, you can shrink them back to their actual size. The next time a five-minute task feels like a death sentence, remember that your brain is just overreacting. Give it a nudge, a laugh, or a clever trick, and you will find yourself slaying the dragon long before your tea goes cold.
Photo by Luis Villasmil
