“You cannot create a false sense of urgency and expect it to motivate you. Your brain is smarter than that.” - Tiffany Simms

How many times do you find yourself frustrated with those moments when you feel like you're "wasting" time? Or when that snooze button becomes a bit too tempting? I can certainly relate, as these scenarios unfolded in my life within the last 24 hours. But in the midst of it all, I received a powerful piece of wisdom from High Performance Coach Tiff that I believe can benefit us all.

"False urgency does not work." Coach Tiff couldn't have been more right!

The reality is, no matter how hard we try, we can't trick ourselves into believing that creating a false sense of urgency will help us conquer our tasks and boost our productivity. Our brains are far too clever for that. As humans, we tend to fill the time available for a task. So, if we have eight hours and a 20-minute task, guess what? We'll likely take all eight hours to complete it.

I experienced this first hand yesterday, even with an entire day to myself. And it happened again this morning when my brain reminded me that my 5:30-7:30 am work plans weren't due until the end of the week (hence the extended rendezvous with the snooze button).

So, if we acknowledge that urgency is a key factor in achieving our goals, finishing that report, or simply getting things done, we also need to accept that false urgency won't cut it. The question then becomes: what can we do about it?

Here are five tips to help you conquer procrastination and supercharge your productivity:

1. Identify the REAL deadline.

2. Map out all the tasks required to meet that deadline (including items you need from others before you can do your part).

3. Understand the consequences if you don't complete "the thing."

4. Schedule specific time in your calendar to work on each individual task needed to meet the deadline.

5. Sandwich those tasks between important, non-negotiable meetings and responsibilities to prevent convincing yourself you have time to "do it later."

💥💥 BONUS 💥💥 Don't clutter your To-Do List with tasks that hold no real value or consequences.

I hope these tips help you approach your week with intention and joy.

With love,
Tiffany