This is one of those boring but powerful insights that no one takes seriously enough. I’m here to remind you of it’s existence and nudge you to try it out today:
"Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." - C. Northcote Parkinson
The time you’ve allotted for a task will hold disproportionate sway on its actual duration. In other words deadlines are the single biggest factor for determining when things get done.
It’s weird. It’s tautological. It seems silly — but it’s real.
That’s because “done” is a loose, organic concept. Your feelings about what it means to be “done” change as you work. It’s as if you’re walking on a journey with a volatile destination. The oasis keeps shifting in distance as you take more steps in the desert. A deadline caps this volatility.
More importantly, the intensity of effort we bring to a task is negatively correlated with the timeframe. Shorter timeframes engender higher intensity:
There’s a limit to this. Setting hyper-aggressive deadlines isn’t always going to work. The nature of your tasks play a big factor too (e.g. think engineering jobs with concrete specifications VS creative writing projects).
But you’d be surprised at just how many of your projects can be completed in much smaller time frames.
Here are some tips for practice:
Actually time-block your todos. How many times have you heard this? It’s boring but it works. Block 30mins or an hour to work on something. You’ll get it wrong the first 30 times, but it will still help.
Try “The 5 Minute Dash.” This is like high intensity interval training for productivity. Set a timer for 5 minutes and work as fast as you can on a task that has no business being completed in 5 minutes. Regardless of how you feel, make sure you stop when the bell rings.
Convince yourself of a deadline. Put some skin in the game. Announce it to your friends. Pledge 50$ that you’ll publish something by a given date. Once your psyche is convinced that there’s no weaselling, it gifts you with intensity.
Daniel
P.S. - ultraviolent language also engenders higher intensity:
Ultraviolent chart made me literally laugh out loud. Thanks!
Good tips too! Short, to the point and memorable.