The further you set your deadline for a goal, the less work you’re going to do towards that goal.
Imagine this: the year just started. You blink and it's February, and you tell yourself, "Oh, that's fine, I still have 11 months to catch up to my goal."
By the middle of the year, you’re most likely to tell yourself that you’re doing fine, even though you’re still behind, but hey, you've got half a year left. If there is no sense of urgency, your actions won’t be very substantial, unless you’re already very disciplined, and let’s be honest, that’s not the case for most of us.
So, what’s the solution? Well, it’s easy. Instead of setting the deadline for the end of the year, set it for the next 3 or 4 months, depending on how big your goal is. Even if it takes a year, then split it into multiple smaller goals in a way that will make every week count.
I don’t say everyday, because after all, we’re humans. Unexpected things will happen, you will eventually miss a day sometimes in the future.
“The greatest gifts of a New Year; it brings a new beginning, new blessings and new bliss.” - Lailah Gifty Akita, Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind
I bet most of us felt quite good when we wrote down our goals and we imagine how good we're going to be by the end of the New Year. Well, we can get that feeling multiple times a year, every few months we can feel like it's a new year and another fresh start.
So, as long as you focus on shorter time frames, you should be more productive. Because if the deadline seems too far in the future, you will trick yourself, you will find excuses, you will talk yourself into putting it off.
Some people will still be able to hit their goals when they set the deadline for the last day of December, but a sooner deadline will give you extra motivation and , at the end of the year, you’re going to see that you were capable of achieving even more than you initially wanted.
I must confess, I stole this idea from the book "The 12 Week Year," which was quite good. If you like this type of productivity or self-help book, this would be a good addition. Sadly, I have to use an affiliate link, but it’s easy to find.
Cheers!
