Don't give yourself so much time you
constantly run out of time
When you're setting deadlines for
yourself, make sure you select the right deadline. You have to
understand the reason why deadlines exist in the first place. They're
not just about putting some chronological restraints on a particular
project.
While there's a lot of value to that,
there's something more to deadlines that strict, time-based
parameters. The main reason why deadlines work is because they force
people to take action before a certain time passes.
In other words, they push people to do
things that they normally would not do. Let's face it, people being
people would rather kick the can down the road, or better yet, don't
do what they're supposed to do at all.
That's the basic truth about the human
condition. Doesn't matter where you come from, doesn't matter how
much education you have. This is true for all people.
With everything else being equal, we'd
rather not do anything that is outside of our comfort zone. We'd
rather do things that we're accustomed to. This is why big projects
often terrify us.
We know what we're supposed to do. We
know how much good achieving these things will have in our lives, but
we can't quite get ourselves to do it. How come? We're scared of
change.
We're afraid that we might have to give
up certain things. We're afraid of putting in all this time, effort
and energy only to come up short. The last thing that most people
want for themselves or their families is to try really hard only to
come up short and fail.
This is why they give themselves all
sorts of excuses and deadlines terrify people. Well, here's the
problem. When you set a deadline that is so far out into the future,
you're just setting yourself up for disappointment.
Sure, from time to time, you are able
to do things right on time or even well ahead of schedule. But let's
get serious here. How often does that happen? In fact, if your like
most people, you can probably count that with one hand.
When we set a deadline far into the
future, the rest of our lives catch up. There's all sorts of duties,
obligations and responsibilities competing for our time. This is why
we run out of time constantly because if you set up a deadline long
into the future, there will be all sorts of new stuff taking up your
schedule.
If you're not careful, by the time the
deadline comes, you're just as unprepared as if you had set up the
deadline to a much earlier date. You see how this works?
So, don't give yourself so much time
that you constantly run out of time. Instead, set up a realistic
deadline so as to maximize the value of the deadline. In other words,
the deadline should motivate you to action. It should get you to take
action right on time. That's how you set the proper deadline.
Of course, you shouldn't set the
deadline so close that it scares you. In fact, it can be so scary and
intimidating that you end up paralyzed.
Take Action, Make it happend.
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