Do You Have Trouble Getting Things Done?
Christopher Cox, a journalist with The New York Times, has written a book about deadline research: The Deadline Effect: How to Work Like It’s the Last Minute — Before the Last Minute. The results show that if a person doesn’t have a deadline, the work is not finished nearly as quickly as if they do have a deadline.
But What if There is No Deadline?
What if you are writing a book? Remodeling your home? Planning to begin improving your diet or your exercise program? The research results show that setting a deadline for yourself is almost as effective as having one externally imposed.
Tighter Deadlines are More Effective than Longer Ones
Cox describes an experiment by Suzanne Shu and Ayelet Gneezy in the Journal of Marketing Research. They provided coupons for a free slice of cake at a local pastry shop. One set of coupons expired in three weeks; the others were valid for two months. Those with the shorter time window in which to redeem their coupon were five times as likely to use it before it expired!
Goal-setting Theory
Cox also describes some tenets from goal-setting theory. The more concrete and difficult a goal you set for yourself (within reason), the more likely it will be that you will meet it. A classic study of this theory described the difficulties that several logging companies in Oklahoma had in getting their drivers to fully load their trucks. At first the drivers were just told to do better; they didn’t. But when they were told to load their trucks to 94% of the weight limit for each trip, they responded. The average load went from 60% to 90% of capacity. This was a great money-saver for the companies.
The Takeaway
If you have trouble getting things done, try setting yourself a deadline. And remember that a nearer deadline is more effective than one further out. And if you want help with this, you can use my complimentary Tool. In Step 3, wish for a new mental pathway dedicated to helping you set the most effective deadlines.
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