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How do you measure time? What period are you most comfortable with, the one that you use to keep track of things to-do in your head? Is it in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, possibly years…? Right now I am keeping track of my biggest project in terms of months. In fact it is just over two months until I plan to move on, but do you know what, it’s actually much sooner then that.
Our mind plays many tricks on us and one of them is how it deals with time. It seems that our most urgent goals/plans/projects/whatever we have to do is always relegated to the longest feeling periods of time, the one we can put off until later because it’s so far away. It’s the reason most of us procrastinate, not because we’re lazy (though some are) but because we have time.
I’m going to die in 60 years so no rush, plenty of time to do what I want. That project is due next week, no rush, there is plenty of time. My contract ends on my house and job in just over two months, no worries, I can get everything done before then. The problem is that we don’t.
You want to get something done, you want to be successful, you want to make the most of your time then try something different.
Take that time period you are so comfortable with and step it down. Project due next week? Nope, it has to be done in 6 days. All my contracts end and I’m out in the cold in about 2 months? Nope, it all ends in 72 days. Gave yourself 6 months to complete a goal? Nope, its 24 weeks or even 168 days.
The key is to make the amount of time left feel uncomfortable, to make it tangible and always keep it on your mind. If things feel comfortable when you say you have a month left to get something done, try putting it in weeks or days and see how you feel. It won’t cure procrastination but it sure will help. Be careful though, your mind will fight tooth and nail to remove the discomfort and not always by making you work on your goal. After all, it takes much less effort to re-categorize the time period and make things feel far away then to get up and do something.
By when do you have to have something finished? Are you sure it’s that far away?
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