Things That Aren't Doing the Thing

A few months ago, I stumbled across a piece that changed how I think about productivity and procrastination. It’s a simple reminder that helps me cut through all the noise and excuses I tend to create for myself. Whenever I catch myself avoiding what I should be doing, these words come back to me.

The piece is called “Things That Aren’t Doing the Thing” by strangestloop, and it’s brilliantly simple yet deep and meaningful. Here it is in full:

Preparing to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.

Scheduling time to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.

Making a to-do list for the thing isn’t doing the thing.

Telling people you’re going to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.

Messaging friends who may or may not be doing the thing isn’t doing the thing.

Writing a banger tweet about how you’re going to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.

Hating on yourself for not doing the thing isn’t doing the thing. Hating on other people who have done the thing isn’t doing the thing. Hating on the obstacles in the way of doing the thing isn’t doing the thing.

Fantasizing about all of the adoration you’ll receive once you do the thing isn’t doing the thing.

Reading about how to do the thing isn’t doing the thing. Reading about how other people did the thing isn’t doing the thing. Reading this essay isn’t doing the thing.

The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.

Credit: Things That Aren’t Doing the Thing by strangestloop

#Why this resonates

What struck me most about this piece is how it strips away every single excuse I’ve ever made. I’m guilty of all of these – the elaborate planning sessions, the perfect setup, the endless research, the social media announcements of my intentions. I’ve spent hours creating the perfect workspace, days researching the best tools, weeks planning the optimal schedule.

But none of that was doing the thing.

#The comfort of preparation

There’s something deeply comfortable about preparation. It feels productive. It feels like progress. When I spend three hours organizing my notes, color-coding my calendar, or watching “just one more” tutorial, I can tell myself I’m working toward my goal. But I’m not. I’m avoiding it.

Preparation has become my favorite form of procrastination because it doesn’t feel like procrastination. It feels responsible. It feels smart. But it’s still not doing the thing.

#The fear behind the avoidance

Why do we do this? For me, it’s fear. Fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, fear that the reality won’t match the fantasy I’ve built in my head. As long as I’m preparing, I’m safe from the possibility of falling short. The potential remains intact, perfect and untested.

But potential without action is just daydreaming with a productivity mask on.

#Making the shift

Since discovering this piece, I’ve started asking myself a simple question whenever I sit down to work: “Am I doing the thing, or am I doing something that isn’t doing the thing?”

I’ve been procrastinating on creating this personal blog for months. I researched the perfect static site generator, compared countless themes, planned out a content calendar, drafted outlines for dozens of posts, bookmarked inspiring blogs, and told my wife about my plans to start writing. I even set up the development environment multiple times, only to tear it down and start over with a “better” approach.

But I wasn’t writing. I wasn’t publishing. I wasn’t doing the thing.

So when I finally decided to actually start, I knew this had to be my first post. Not a perfectly crafted introduction, not a technical deep-dive to establish credibility, not a grand mission statement. Just this simple reminder that became the catalyst for finally doing the thing: creating and publishing my blog.

More often than not, I catch myself in the act of not-doing. Planning to write isn’t writing. Researching how to code isn’t coding. Thinking about exercising isn’t exercising.

The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.

#Your turn

So here’s my challenge to you: What’s your thing? What have you been preparing for, planning for, talking about, but not actually doing?

Thank you for reading this far. Now, when you’re ready, open whatever you need to open to do your thing.

And do the thing.

Because the only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.