How come these small things feel like the biggest things to do?

Sigh! We seem to struggle with perfectionism. I have also delayed assignments (from C++ programming to developmental psychology papers to doctoral dissertation proposals). At some point we realize that the perfection, towards which we strive, will never be attained. We can choose a) to abandon or abscond on our best efforts and put forth a lackluster effort (which might still outshine the majority of our peers) or b) to "take the bull by the horns" and do our honest best to achieve our stated aims. Frankly, perfectionists will cop out more often than not, and still receive accolades.

My best strategies (none of which, to be honest, obtain absolute results) include:
- withholding rewards until a job is completed sufficiently
- forming friendships with those who are supportive and encourage effort over procrastination
- balancing work with entertainment (such as Yahoo Answers) during times of stress/duress
- sabotaging work by leaving myself with unreasonable deadlines (I KNOW you have tried this one)
- imagining/visualizing the next level of success which would only be attainable by substantive effort
- comparing myself to others (remember, Armstrong said "one small step for man" which was a total mistake and possibly the worst screw-up of all time

:D My advice: hand in what you have (get an A-, or work your *** off and get and A+ and possibly an "in" to bigger things)

it's because you'll need to courage to do something small, and everything small builds up to build the big ones. it's a mindset. you will have to have a strongwill and put your mind to things, otherwise it's all gonna collapse. the first step is often the hardest, I know that very well.
same for me. I cannot seem to get the momentum going. I don't have to courage to do things, to take the small steps. because it's the small steps that matters in this life. I don't have to courage to do it. I simply don't. I am timid. I feel the things are getting a lot harder right now and I cannot stand it. I simply don't have the courage to do it, it's the lack of courage, though.