All of us, even with the best of intentions, fail to take action on things, even when we’ve said it is really really important. Why is that?
In an ideal world, our behavior would be based on our values – what we say is important to us. But that’s not always how it works, is it? I can really value and want a clean house, but that doesn’t mean I’ll actually get out the broom and Windex.
What does get me to clean my house?
Company.
Sound familiar? Company is coming over for dinner, and boy can I go into a whirlwind of cleaning, straightening, and cramming things in the closet so they’ll be out of sight. 
But WHY do we clean our house at that point in time when we could have cleaned it last weekend rather than snuggling up with the latest romance novel? Because all of a sudden it has become URGENT!
Human behavior almost always depends on urgency. That doesn’t have to mean urgency of a dire or catastrophic nature. It can be the simple urgency of friends coming over to visit in 20 minutes…and you with a messy house.
Knowing that urgency has a significant affect on our behavior, and that implicit in reading this post, there is something about yourself or your behavior you would like to change, you can design your environment to support you.
One way to do that is to manufacture urgency…in the form of Deadlines.
The D word.
Why do deadlines work so well – even when it is outside the work situation?
There are three primary reasons:
- deadlines represent commitment – commitment to yourself, to others, to the project itself, and perhaps to some greater purpose. We all like the feeling we get when we’ve followed through on a commitment.
- deadlines enforce accountability – accountability makes a difference. When you go public with your deadline, and especially if you enlist the support of your friends and coworkers, you are much more likely to follow through. It’s the only way to save face, as well as live up to who you say you are.Even if you don’t tell anyone, so it’s accountability just to yourself, YOU still know when you didn’t live up to who you say you are. You might think that doesn’t matter, but over time, all those seemingly little episodes build up and show up in self-judgment, fear of taking on something new, and even difficulty in relationships.
- deadlines create a sense of urgency – no doubt about it. And since this is the #1 factor affecting behavior for 99% of us, it makes sense to use it to our advantage.
When these three factors are in place, you are much more likely to follow through and take action.
So, how can you use this right now in a way that is manageable, maybe even fun, and gets you to take action on the things you said you would.
Here’s one way to do it.
This week I am having a sort of deadline game with my good friend Sandy. Every day we talk at 9am, noon, and 5pm. In each of those quick phone calls, we COMMIT to what we are going to accomplish in the next couple of hours, before we talk again. In the noon and 5pm calls we also CELEBRATE what we accomplished.
It’s only Wednesday, and already both Sandy and I have completed projects that have been on our desks for weeks, if not months. And we’re having fun by making it a game with each other.
What about you? How have you used deadlines effectively? What suggestions do you have for other readers about how they can play with deadlines in an effective way? Type your comments below!
Related posts:
