Make a phone call you're avoiding, broken into 6 small steps
Some calls stay on the list for weeks: the insurance company, the landlord, the friend you haven't called back. The call itself would take five minutes; the dread around it takes much longer.
Most of that dread is not knowing what you'll say. Write it down, and the call becomes reading out loud.
Start here · under 2 minutes
Find the number and save it as a contact.
Under two minutes. Now it's one tap away.
The rest of the steps
- Step 2:
Write the one thing you need from the call.
One line: "Change my appointment to next week" or "Ask about the refund".
- Step 3:
Get any numbers you might need.
Account number, order number, dates. Have them on screen or paper.
- Step 4:
Pick a time and set a 5-minute reminder.
Right after something you do anyway, like coffee or lunch.
- Step 5:
Dial and read your line.
Reading is fine. Nobody can tell, and nobody would mind.
- Step 6:
Write down what was agreed.
Name of the person, date, next step. Takes a minute and saves a second call.
Why this one stalls
Calls happen in real time with no undo, and you can't plan what the other person will say. Preparing your side is what you can control.
If you get stuck
Check if it can be an email or chat instead. If it really has to be a call, make it while walking; moving can make it easier to talk.
What “done” looks like
The call made and the outcome written down.
These steps follow the same rules as the method in our task breakdown guide: the first step is physical and takes under two minutes, and every step after it is something you can see yourself doing. Got a head full of other things too? Start with a brain dump.