how to not give a fuckself-impose deadlines
"i'll get to it eventually" is the most dangerous sentence in your vocabulary. eventually means never. you know it. i know it. your goals definitely know it.
why deadlines work
parkinson's law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. give yourself a week to do a task, it takes a week. give yourself a month, it takes a month. give yourself no deadline at all, and it takes forever.
deadlines create artificial scarcity of time. and scarcity drives action in a way that abundance never will.
the problem with self-imposed deadlines
here's the catch: most self-imposed deadlines have no teeth. you set a date, miss it, shrug, and push it back. there's no consequence, so there's no urgency.
you need to add stakes.
how to add real consequences
financial stakes: use a platform like stickk.com where you put real money on the line. miss your deadline, and your money goes to a charity — or even better, an anti-charity (an organization you'd never want to support). nothing motivates like the thought of funding something you hate.
social stakes: tell someone specific what you're going to accomplish and by when. make it someone whose opinion you care about. the fear of public failure is a legitimate motivator — use it.
opportunity stakes: book something non-refundable that depends on hitting your goal. sign up for the race before you're ready. book the photoshoot before you've lost the weight. buy the plane ticket before you've saved the full trip fund.
the system
- write down your goal in specific, measurable terms
- set a deadline that's aggressive but not impossible
- attach a consequence that actually hurts if you miss it
- tell someone about it
- execute
deadlines without consequences are wishes with dates on them. add the stakes. feel the pressure. watch how fast you move.
if this resonated, share it with someone who needs to hear it.