I’ve heard it a lot, and I’ve said it myself before. “I work better under pressure.”
The problem is the context in which most people say this.
They’ve typically procrastinated some assignment or project until the last few days or hours, and are now forced to rush it to completion.
Now, for some people, this may just be a way they justify their procrastination habit, but for many, we really do work better when we have a deadline and are forced to do the thing.
Let’s say that your paper, spreadsheet, sermon, whatever, is due in two weeks.
You could wait until the day before to knock it out, sure. That will certainly provide the pressure you need to work well.
But that strategy is highly dependent on the project taking the amount of time you think it will, which often isn’t the case.
What you end up with is a “good enough” result and not your best result.
Let me present another option to those of you who, like me, need that added pressure: racing the clock during planned time blocks spread over several days.
Now, let’s take that same assignment that’s due in two weeks and apply this strategy instead.
You choose five days over the first week during which you will work on the project for one hour. (or 30 minutes, just a time block that makes sense for the project). Not “around an hour,” but literally an hour.
Set your timer, put your phone on Do Not Disturb, put on whatever music helps you focus and work quickly, and focus on that project for an hour. When the timer goes off, stop working. Don’t allow yourself to keep working on it.
Now, after you’ve finished those five days, see where you are. If you’re finished, great! You have a week to review it and make any changes, or you’re just done!
If you’re not finished, set another two days, then reevaluate again.
The reason I typed “choose five days” and “set another two days” instead of starting off with “one hour blocks for ten days” is because work expands to fill the time we allot to it.
If we give ourselves ample time, then we don’t feel that pressure some of us need to work well. We allow distractions, let our thoughts drift, etc. This would defeat the purpose of this strategy.
So, think about a project you have coming due shortly. Take your best guess at how much time it will take you to complete it, then schedule time blocks for about half of that time broken up over several days or weeks and see what you can knock out.
Repeat that process until you finish it.
Oh, and don’t let anyone guilt you into going to eat, swinging by the store for them, scheduling a phone call, etc during that time. PROTECT the time, or you’ve just wasted two minutes reading this because it certainly won’t work.
And if you like time-management strategies like these, I’ll be running a six week program I’m launching next week that’s a complete system to taking control of your time and spending it on the things you value.
I’ll be running the first one at a very discounted rate in exchange for feedback and reviews! Let me know if you want more info.
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