This should help. I felt your "pain" until just a little while ago. What I discovered is: Hold the Smart Stick in the palm of your dominant hand, just as designed. Press the low or high button and hold; nothing happens yet. Now with a finger on your other hand push, then release, the lock button on top. The blender motor should start as soon as you push the lock button down and stay running until you release the high or low button. This frees up your non-dominant hand for holding the container that you are mixing.