Stop setting deadlines. Set durations

We live by deadlines. Pay your taxes by April 15th. Complete this project before Friday. Solve global warming by… you get the idea.

This is all well and good, except it doesn’t work. Sure, you may complete the project by the deadline, but usually our efforts start small and ramp up as it gets closer and closer to the due date. It’s even worse the farther away it is. A deadline is only useful for planning for the here and now. A deadline will never create motivation for you in and of itself unless it is so short that it is tangible.

• Become a full-time YouTuber by 2025.

• Develop a better relationship with my kids this year.

• Land 20 clients every week.