The Vicious Circle is this: the more work there is to be done, the less I want to do it. Which, therefore, leads to more work needing to be done. When I have no “open loops” as the Getting Things Done protocol names it, I can do whatever I want. But when I have all kinds of open loops, closing them is harder because I have all these other loops that I also have to close. It’s the equivalent of collecting mental clutter when I need to focus, or trying to move around baggage when you already have a hundred pounds on your back, and every extra loop is another 10 pounds.
The way to break through it is to ignore the other loops. Just get whatever you need to get done finished, and then you can move on to the next thing. But for now, everything else does not exist. Forget it. Just do what you can, and you’ll know you’ve already tried your hardest, and you can try again tomorrow. And then once you’ve finished something, it gathers like steam in a locomotive, and your momentum can push you through all your tasks, until you sit at the end thinking, “Huh. That wasn’t THAT hard.”
TLDR, half the battle’s in your head, dear procrastinator and corner cutter. Get back to work!