- 1% Habits
- Posts
- My 4-Step System for Simplifying Any Digital Task
My 4-Step System for Simplifying Any Digital Task
S.J. Scott
August 18, 2025
In partnership with
Welcome to another edition of the 1% Habits Newsletter!
This is where you’ll get up-to-date information on small wins to improve your habits, productivity, and life satisfaction.
Let’s get to it.
— SPONSORED AD —
Big investors are buying this “unlisted” stock
When the founder who sold his last company to Zillow for $120M starts a new venture, people notice. That’s why the same VCs who backed Uber, Venmo, and eBay also invested in Pacaso.
Disrupting the real estate industry once again, Pacaso’s streamlined platform offers co-ownership of premier properties, revamping the $1.3T vacation home market.
And it works. By handing keys to 2,000+ happy homeowners, Pacaso has already made $110M+ in gross profits in their operating history.
Now, after 41% YoY gross profit growth last year alone, they recently reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.
Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.
— END SPONSORED AD —
📈 My 4-Step System for Simplifying Any Digital Task
One of the biggest reasons people procrastinate isn’t laziness — it’s friction.
When a task feels like it requires too much effort to even get started, we naturally delay. That’s why so many habits and projects stall before they gain momentum. The key is to make it as brain-dead simple as possible to take the first step.
One of my favorite strategies for this is what’s known as the 20-second rule.
The 20-Second Rule
The 20-second rule comes from Shawn Achor’s book The Happiness Advantage. The idea is simple: if you want to build a habit, make it easier to start. If you want to break a habit, make it harder to start.
Specifically:
● To build a habit: Reduce the time and effort it takes to get started by at least 20 seconds.
● To break a habit: Add at least 20 seconds of friction between you and the habit you’re trying to stop.
For example, if you want to practice guitar more often, keep it on a stand in the living room instead of tucked away in a case. If you want to watch less TV, take the batteries out of the remote and put them in a drawer across the room.
The same principle applies to digital tasks. How much time do we waste every day just trying to find the right email, file, or folder? Those extra minutes of searching create friction — and friction leads to procrastination.
That’s why I’ve built systems to make starting any digital task as easy as clicking one button.
My Two Core Tools
For me, nearly everything I do digitally runs through two tools:
Todoist — my task manager of choice. It’s simple, flexible, and powerful enough to handle everything from daily habits to big projects. You can learn more about Todoist here.
Google Workspace — Docs, Sheets, and Drive are where I create and store almost everything. They’re cloud-based, accessible from anywhere, and integrate seamlessly with Todoist.
You don’t need to use these exact tools, but the principle is the same: pick a reliable task manager and a reliable workspace, and make them the backbone of your system.
— SPONSORED AD —
Stay organized and achieve your goals with the Time Management & Productivity Printable Bundle.
Featuring 25+ tools like habit trackers, goal planners, time-blocking templates, and daily schedules in various increments, it’s designed to suit any lifestyle.
From project planning to energy audits, this bundle has everything you need to streamline your day and make progress effortlessly.
— END SPONSORED AD —
My Four-Step Process for Reducing Friction
Here’s the process I use to make it as easy as possible to start any digital task.
1. Schedule the Frequency of the Task
Decide how often the task needs to be done. Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Then schedule it in ToDoist. You can even set it for a specific time each day if that helps.
For example, I’ve talked about the faceless video business I’m experimenting with. If you’re curious about the journey, you can check out the backstory in these past issues:
One of the tasks that drives results is creating videos with songs that target a specific audience. That requires consistent, daily effort. So I schedule time every day to work on it.
Do I miss a day here and there? Of course — especially while on vacation. But because the task is scheduled, it doesn’t fall through the cracks.
Tip for you: If there’s something you want to build into a habit, put it on a recurring schedule. Don’t rely on memory or motivation.
2. Collect All the Links You Need
Think of all the tools, files, and resources you’ll need to complete the task. If it’s a computer-based task, chances are there’s a direct link to each one.
For my video project, I regularly use three tools:
An AI chat to create images
An AI chat to create titles and descriptions
The folder where I upload the finished videos
Instead of hunting for those links every time, I gather them once and keep them handy.
Tip for you: Do a quick audit of your most common tasks. What links, files, or folders do you always need? Collect them in one place.
3. Add Links to the Task
This is where the magic happens. In ToDoist, I add all the relevant links directly into the task description. That way, when it’s time to start, I just click the task, tap the links, and everything I need is open in seconds.
No wasted time digging through folders. No “where did I save that file again?” Just instant access.
This little step saves me a minute or two every time — and more importantly, it eliminates the mental friction that can make me procrastinate.
Here’s what this task looks like on my Todoist list:
Tip for you: Whatever task manager you use, add direct links to the files and tools you need. The easier it is to start, the more likely you are to follow through.
4. Do This for All Your Digital Tasks
Finally, repeat this process for every recurring digital task in your life.
For me, that includes:
● Writing and scheduling these emails
● Generating topic ideas for this newsletter
● Creating articles for my niche websites
● Tracking my son’s running workouts and race times
● Adding notes and ideas that pop into my head
And about 20–30 other tasks I do on a regular basis.
By simplifying my workflow this way, I’ve removed the biggest barrier to productivity: getting started.
Tip for you: Don’t try to overhaul everything at once. Start with one or two tasks you do often. Build the system, test it, and then expand it to more areas of your work and life.
Final Thoughts on Digital Tasks
Procrastination isn’t usually about laziness — it’s about friction. If you make it easy to start, you’ll find it much easier to follow through.
The 20-second rule is a simple but powerful way to reduce friction. Combine it with a reliable task manager and a streamlined system for your digital tasks, and you’ll be amazed at how much smoother your workflow becomes.
The easier you make it to start, the more progress you’ll make.
Talk soon,
Steve
☕ Techpresso: Techpresso gives you a daily rundown of what's happening in tech and what you shouldn't miss. Read by 300,000+ professionals from Google, Apple, OpenAI...
🎯 How Brands Win: Discover the strategies behind iconic brands. Get their famous "7 Positioning Sins That Cost B2B Brands Millions" guide when you join.
💵 MaxDividends: High Yield & Dividend Growth Stocks worth Investing In to Boost Your Passive Income for Living Off Dividends and Retire Early. 25,000+ constant readers!
🗂️ The Resource Roundup
🛣️ Uncertainty Is Stressful – But Here’s Why We Need to Feel It: An exploration of why discomfort with uncertainty is natural, and how leaning into it can help us grow, adapt, and make better choices.
🚫 This Is Why I Don’t Have Goals (and What to Do Instead): Ryan Holiday explains why he focuses on systems and daily practices over rigid goals, and how this approach creates sustainable progress.
💲 Everybody Wants to Be Rich: A candid look at what “being rich” really means, challenging readers to define wealth in terms of freedom, purpose, and well-being rather than just money.