TL;DR - Can't start? Set a timer for 30 seconds and work until it rings. Once you're in, it's easier than it looked.
You know the feeling. You want to code the side project, learn that technology, go deeper into the domain - but then you imagine how hard it's going to be, and you don't even start.
My technique that works almost every single time: set a timer for 30 seconds and start working. That's it. Thirty seconds, timer visible, lowest possible pain. Write the first prompt, open the file, do anything. Once you're actually working, it's much easier than it looked from the outside.
Do this consistently - even just twice a week - and it compounds. Push through enough times and after a year that's a massive pile of reps your peers never did. That's how you become drastically better than them.
Next time you feel like doing nothing, try the 30 seconds.