Lately, I have started loving deadlines. Sounds crazy, I know. But let me tell you why.
As the activity level at my startup (HabitStrong) has gone up, my to-do list has started looking scary. And when there is so much to do, we worry about ALL the things simultaneously.
In the process, we start experiencing an ever-present low-grade stress as our mind keeps repeating, “there is so much to do.”
This disease called “there is so much to do” does not let our mind rest.
However, when we face a deadline, our brain is able to finally let go of other tasks and focus on the deadline. It is as if we were carrying five shopping bags on our shoulders, and we got permission to put down four of them.
That is why deadlines can be strangely soothing though they generally aggravate our stress.
But we don’t need deadlines to do this.
We can train our mind to focus on one task at a time using a simple technique: Write down your current task in a big bold font on a paper and keep it in front of you.
Then promise yourself to not switch tasks till you finish the current one and strike it off on the paper. By activating your awareness, you will break the autopilot behavior of switching tasks.
Try it out – sometimes simple things are magical.