Have you ever tried to set yourself a non‑existent deadline to increase your productivity? If so, then you know that this approach rarely works. At the same time, real tight deadlines really spur us to act.
It is precisely because of this peculiarity of the human psyche that we often give priority to insignificant tasks with pressing deadlines, rather than serious projects that still have time. This can be fixed with the help of natural deadlines.
Let's say this month you decided to check your health and the day before the doctor's appointment you need to get the test results. You don't really like to donate blood, so you postpone the procedure for later. At the same time, you want to analyze all the indicators with a doctor, which motivates you to do everything on time. In addition, your doctor praises you for being conscious, and this increases the desire to maintain the habit even more. This is what it means to follow natural deadlines.
Analyze how you behave, what you repeat over and over again and how to turn it in your favor. Note when you perform actions that would be good to turn into a habit. Every day, week, month? Or only when the children go on vacation, and a loved one is on a business trip? If you are already gradually mastering the habit that you want to fully implement in your life, it's time to strengthen it.
For example, you like to listen to useful podcasts, but you only do it on weekends. Try downloading some interesting releases in advance and start listening to them on the way to work. This will allow you to build a new habit.
Each of us has a certain period, which accounts for the peak of productivity. For example, on Monday, in the morning or after 21:00. Use this knowledge. If a habit is especially important to you, stick to it in your productive time. Do not leave everything for the period after work.
When existing habits are interrupted, it is much easier for us to build new ones in their place. This can be arranged independently. For example, cancel all YouTube subscriptions and analyze which channels you really miss. Do not be afraid to periodically abandon the usual things — it helps to "reboot" and upgrade.
If your friend has a useful habit that you would like to adopt, try to start doing it together. Let's say he runs 3 km every morning. Make an agreement and run together — it's not only useful, but also fun.
