“I’ll start Monday” is just deciding to stay the same for four more days.

Future start dates feel like commitment and function as permission. The decision has been made, which relieves the pressure, and the days between now and then get spent exactly as the days before did. Monday also arrives carrying its own reasons for delay, which is why the same Monday keeps being chosen.

Do the smallest possible version today instead, even five minutes of it. Starting badly on a Thursday beats starting perfectly on a Monday that keeps moving. The date was never the obstacle.