A Surprisingly Simple Technique to Make your Deadline Really Effective

When setting ourselves deadlines, we often say to ourselves by Friday, by the end of the week, by the end of the summer, tomorrow... And what happens if we don't meet our goal? Absolutely nothing. And that's a big problem. In this article you will learn a simple technique to make your deadline actually effect. From now on, your deadlines will be a wonderful motivational technique to make you work harder & more effective.

"For a deadline to be workable, there must be unprecedented consequences for all of humanity and life on this planet if it is not met."
– Neil Strauss, author of seven The New York Times bestsellers

In the workplace, meeting deadlines is usually a big deal. It's because we're afraid that if we don't meet a deadline, we'll lose our bonuses or, worse, our jobs.

But what do we do when we're freelancers or if we are setting deadline to work on our personal goals?

I'll tell you a trick that I learned from Neil Strauss and have been using for a few years now...
If I really want to accomplish a goal, I tell my friend. Not just anybody - a very close friend who will be crowned as my "Accountibility partner". Not only will I tell him about my goal, not only will I give him my word, but I'll give him €100 on top of that.

We sign an agreement that if I don't meet my deadline, he has to keep the €100. He mustn't be nice to be and give me a second chance. Yes, we literally create a contract, which states exactly what it is that I am promising to do, by when, how is he going to check whether I've really did what I promised.

Depending on how big of goal is in question, my friend will occasionally call me and ask, "So how are you doing? Did you get anything done?" I know I might be checked on any time and that's what pushes me forward. Basically, I delegated the role of the worst boss to my best friend.

Are you really signing a contract with your friend?
It's not because we don't trust each other. The contract acts as a motivation force that pushes me to succeed. If only we'd just had a beer together  and said: "Here, here's 100 euros and if I don't meet my deadline, you can keep it", it wouldn't have the same energy. It is in the formalisation of the process - that's where's the magic.

The carrot and stick method is primitive, but it works beautifully.

• I don't want to look incompetent. I don't want to break my word & the contract.
• I don't want to lose money.

If I succeed, I get my goal done + 100 euros. What's more to ask?