Can't stop procrastinating? 💀

Amid all the dings and pings pulling our heartstrings, (I'm a poet, I am!) it's hard to set aside distractions to get real work done.

Or is it?

The problem 👎

For you and me, it's hard finding the motivation to study a week before the test. But the night before? No problem.

How about doing laundry? Nobody wants to do it until we're scared of running out of underwear. Or finding the perfect birthday gift for your mother. It's a tomorrow problem, until the day before the big day.

What's the difference here? How do we have no motivation in the first case, but no problem in the second?

The solution 😈

The answer? Stakes. I think we're alike - we find our flow and do our best work while under pressure, with big consequences staring us in the face.

"...we find our flow and do our best work under pressure"

But for tasks that can take more time and dedication than we can muster up in a night, like crafting an application or studying for an entrance exam, how can we turn up the heat without procrastinating?

We set our own stakes, of course!

So, say we have a huge test coming up, but neither of us feel like studying. We're going to make a deal with each other - we each study for at least 2 hours a day. Whoever misses a day pays the other $50. I guarantee you'll find the motivation you were missing.

The stakes don't have to be financial, either. Here are some ideas:

• Want to run a 10K, but don't want to train? Tell all your friends to come watch your race.
• Want to learn to code? Sign up for a hackathon.
• Want to learn to cook? Invite all your friends over for a home-made dinner party.

Next time you feel the itch to put something off, set some stakes for yourself! I promise - it works!