I had to give a TEDx talk at IIM Ranchi but did not start working on the script until I had three days left.
And I was not procrastinating. I was testing a new productivity idea — ‘doing things at the last responsible moment.’
When we have too much time to finish a task, we are likely to be unfocused and distracted. But when there is a tight deadline, we put aside all distractions, focus hard, and get the work done.
Of course, doing things at the last moment can also be a recipe for stress and mistakes. But what if we did it at the ‘last responsible moment’ and not the ‘last possible moment’?
I heard about this idea from lean software development but thought of testing it for productivity. And does it work? You bet.
The only catch is that you should have a good sense of how much time a task will take. Otherwise, it can become a mad scramble.
So the next time you feel like procrastinating on starting a task, try starting when you just have enough time — not too much more.
As Parkinson’s law states: Work expands to fill the time given for its completion.
– Rajan