It needn't take a village, but it often takes a buddy.

By Marty Nemko

Perhaps you’ve been procrastinating on your job search, or your taxes. Or you can’t make yourself start on that hard project.

Yes, it’s usually best to try first to tackle the problem by yourself: that makes you feel more self-efficacious, and you’re not imposing on anyone.

But, if after reasonable effort, you’re not making progress, find someone to get you started: to come over and help you with your resume, sort your tax receipts in a pile, or structure that big project into nice baby steps. That person should then serve the role ofloving taskmaster, with whom you check in with daily, or at least weekly, to keep you accountable.

What are you struggling with now? Who should be your buddy? Do you want to phone him now?