My guest this week is Christopher Cox, author of the book, “The Deadline Effect: How to Work Like It’s the Last Minute, Before the Last Minute.” There is something about deadlines. They can motivate and inspire us to do great work and they can create urgency – would we ever complete any significant project without a deadline? – but they can also cause anxiety and stress.
In his extensive research for the book, Christopher Cox visited a ski resort before opening day, a fine-dining restaurant before the grand opening and even an Easter Lilly farm as they planned ahead for Easter. In the process, he learned how successful organizations use deadlines to effectively mobilize and align resources. In this episode we discuss techniques and strategies we can employ to use deadlines to increase our own productivity and, perhaps even achieve a state of flow.
So, if you want to eliminate procrastination, get more done and feel better doing it, you won't want to miss this one.
Topics Covered:
- How deadlines reduce anxiety and help us be more productive.
- Why people mistakenly associate deadlines with anxiety when they are actually remembering the unpleasant feeling of procrastination.
- Why it's effective to space out deadlines.
- What is the planning fallacy and how to avoid it.
- How to work "right to left" to ensure your big project comes in on time.
- What we can learn from how ski resorts meet their opening day deadline every year.
- How to use a "soft deadline with teeth."
- What we can learn from people who prepare for deadlines that are random.
- How, if we can achieve a state of being "constantly productive, constantly prepared," we will experience a state of flow.
- Why "as soon as possible" is the worst deadline you can set
Resources
- The Deadline Effect: How to Work Like It's the Last Minute, Before the Last Minute, by Christopher Cox.
Connect with Christopher Cox
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cwhe
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-cox-5a70467/
Connect with Sean Murray
Email: seanm@seanmrealtimeperformance.com
Twitter: @seanpmurray111
Website: RealTime Performance, Inc.
Weekly Newsletter: RealTime Performance Newsletter
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.