Try The "Fake Deadline" Hack To Actually Complete Your To-Do List

If you’re someone who needs the sweat-inducing pressure of a looming deadline to have the tiniest hope of getting anything done, no shame. There’s a hack going viral on TikTok that was made specifically for you.

It’s called the “fake deadline” trick, and it’s perfect for procrastinators or anyone who needs a dose of motivation to check things off their to-do list. On July 24, creator @theunstuffedlife put it like this: “I need a fake deadline to make real things happen,” and she isn’t the only one.

In her comments, someone said, “If I need to clean my house or get motivated to get things done, I imagine we have someone coming over at a certain time. Gets me RUNNING around accomplishing everything on my list!” It works like a charm if you desperately need to do laundry, take out the trash, or pack for a trip.

The hack is also a godsend for work projects that have a distant deadline that you know you’re going to ignore until the last dire moment. Creator @indecisive_tay said “fake deadlines” create a sense of urgency your brain believes so you stop procrastinating and actually get to your to-do list — well before the bell rings.

Here’s the psychology behind this hack and how to make it work for you.

What Is The “Fake Deadline” Hack?

The "fake deadline" hack is a productivity trick where you give yourself a made-up deadline for a task you've been meaning to complete. It could be something that has an actual deadline at a later date, like a work project that’s due in three weeks, or something that will never have a true deadline, like a chore that keeps getting pushed back on your to-do list.

According to Stella Kimbrough, LCSW, a psychotherapist and owner of Calm Pathway, this trick can help you find motivation, break bad habits, and avoid procrastination, which is essentially the “avoidance of a challenging, stressful, or otherwise unpleasant task,” she tells Bustle.

Procrastination feels good in the moment because you get to put off feeling anxious or bored, like when you’re working on a big project, but it can also quickly become something you learn to rely on when it comes to finishing those same tasks. When you wait until right before a real deadline to begin a task, your body pumps full of adrenaline, and that’s what narrows your focus and makes it feel like you’re locked in.

“In a sense, procrastination can actually be effective depending on what you are procrastinating,” Kimbrough says. “The problem is when you procrastinate so much that you don’t leave yourself enough time to adequately complete the task.” Either you wait too long to do the project then end up panicking and turning in shoddy work — or missing the real deadline completely — or you put off a task until it ends up creating other problems.

The fake deadline trick is supposed to induce a similar sense of urgency, all without running the risk of finishing something late.

How To Make This Hack Work For You

Instead of relying on a burst of panicky adrenaline before a very-real deadline, the “fake deadline” hack encourages you to find a new source of motivation.

Here’s what it might look like: If you have a project due on Friday, you would put a “fake deadline” in your calendar for Wednesday. You’d then treat Wednesday like the true due date, and your life will be so much more stress-free as a result.

For chores you tend to put off, you could get creative and make up a story about why you need to do them right now. Pretend a friend is coming over and imagine how embarrassed you’d be if they saw your massive pile of laundry. To avoid such (fake) horror, set a timer and start putting it away.

To get used to made-up deadlines, Kimbrough recommends completing smaller tasks, like taking out the trash or doing laundry in a timely fashion. “Building up your confidence with smaller chores can help in the long run with those more intense, unpleasant tasks,” she says.

But I Know The Deadline Isn’t Real...

On TikTok, creator @chelseasarae said fake deadlines don’t work for her because she knows deep down that they aren’t real. It’s why this trick might not work for everyone, especially if you’re a lifelong procrastinator with deeply-rooted bad habits.

If you find it tough to create a false sense of urgency, try breaking the deadline down into smaller chunks. “For example, instead of setting a fake deadline for the entire paper, set a fake deadline for the first paragraph — or first sentence even,” Kimbrough says. “Make sure to really be intentional and map it all out ahead of time. Be really clear with yourself. I even suggest visualizing yourself doing the task.”

Another trick? Tell someone else about your fake deadline, like a friend or coworker, but don’t give away that it’s made up. That way, you’ll feel accountable in a more tangible way. Body doubling, or working alongside them, can also help you get over the hump of starting a project.

Source:

Stella Kimbrough, LCSW, psychotherapist with Calm Pathway