I finish things that have no deadline in two ways, and neither one is a made-up due date. I do the thing as soon as it shows up, before it’s had time to sit, and when I’ve already let it sit, I warm up with a couple of easier tasks and work my way over to it. I’m still struggling with this one, so I’m writing it while it’s a current problem and not a solved one.
Why do things with no deadline never get done?
For me it’s because a deadline is where the fuel comes from. If something isn’t lighting me up on its own, the pressure of getting it done on time is what gets me moving, and when there’s no date, I kick the can down the road.
My clearest example is my Amazon Influencer videos, and I have two piles of them.
The first pile is products brands sent me. I usually tell the brand I’ll have the video done within two weeks, so there’s technically a deadline. Nobody stamped a date on it, though, and I put those off until the very last minute, which is sometimes the day before it’s due.
The second pile is things I already own and haven’t filmed. Nobody sent them and nobody is waiting on them, so there’s no pressure at all. Each one of those videos is a seed I haven’t planted, and I’ve written before about the seed you never plant. They wait anyway. I’ve asked myself why I’m not doing them, and the only answer I have is that for whatever reason I’m not motivated, and I freeze up.
Do made-up deadlines work?
They don’t work on me. I give myself made-up deadlines all the time, and I don’t fall for it, because I know I’m the one who set the date.
I’ve also tried the accountability version, where I tell a friend or someone in my family to yell at me if I don’t get a thing done in time. Apparently they don’t scare me enough, because it hasn’t worked out either.
The two weeks I tell a brand does work on me, but only at the last minute.
What happens while a task sits?
The longer something sits, the more dread builds up around it. It adds pressure, and the task starts to feel so much heavier than it was the day it showed up. With my videos, I feel like the longer a product sits, the more pressure there is to do the video really really well.
Then I finally do the thing, and almost every time I step back and think, oh my gosh, that was nothing, why did I wait so long? Sometimes the thing I dreaded for weeks took 10 minutes, and I sit there wondering what is wrong with me.
Timing a task helps with this part, and I wrote about it in Why Do I Think Everything Will Take So Long?, where the task was my dishes.
What if I don’t know the first step?
Then the task isn’t one task, and I think that’s why mine keeps freezing me.
I have a phone call to make about a medical reimbursement benefit through my husband’s work. It has no due date on my list, and it would help us, because I can submit medical bills and get money back. I’ve moved it to next week on my task list for about three months.
When I ask myself why, the answer is that I don’t even know who to call. So the real first step is finding that out, and the call comes after it. There are too many steps, and that’s what makes me freeze up. I wrote about naming the step you don’t know how to do in Why Do I Start Things and Never Finish Them?.
What does the freeze look like?
It doesn’t look like doing nothing for me. When I freeze on a video, I spend the time on other things I want to be doing, so I can still call the day productive. It’s just not with the right things.
What gets me to do one anyway?
Two things have worked, and neither one works every time.
Doing it right away
A few products arrived recently and I filmed the videos the next day. I was all proud of myself for not letting them sit. I think doing a thing right away is the key for me, because it never gets the chance to pick up that extra weight. I still want to do a good job and not rush through it. I just don’t want to let it sit and marinate.
Starting with the easy ones
When a video isn’t grabbing me, the best thing I’ve found is to film a few others first, either easier ones or ones I’m in the mood for. That gets some momentum going, and I can work up to the ones I’ve been avoiding. Having my sister there helps too, which is the whole idea behind body doubling.
The things I own get filmed this way sometimes. I’ll be in the middle of a filming session, get an idea for one of them, and grab it. Other days I run out of time while I’m still on the ones brands sent, and the second pile waits again.
| What I’ve tried | Did it work for me? |
|---|---|
| A made-up deadline | No. I know who set it |
| Asking friends or family to hold me to a date | No. They don’t scare me enough |
| Telling a brand about two weeks | Yes, but only the day before |
| Doing it the day after it arrives | Yes, when I manage it |
| Filming a few easy ones first | Sometimes |
What else helps me get going?
Sometimes a task manager helps, because I like checking things off. Checking a thing off gives me a little dopamine hit, and that keeps me going to the next one.
The other thing is reminding myself how good it feels to get something done, especially when it’s been waiting a long time. Getting that heavy thing off of me feels so freeing. It’s hard to remember that in the moment, but the feeling does show up at the end, and it helps to know it’s coming.
Today’s action
Do one thing that’s been sitting
- Pick the one thing with no deadline that’s been on your list the longest.
- Write down its first step. If you don’t know the first step, finding it out is today’s whole task.
- Do two easy things from your list first, so you’re already moving.
- Start a timer on your phone, do the first step, and look at the number when you’re done.
- The next time something new shows up with no due date, do it by the end of the next day.
Frequently asked questions
How do I finish things that have no deadline?
I finish them by doing them the day they show up or the day after, before they’ve had time to sit. When something has already been sitting, I do a couple of easier tasks first and work my way over to it. Neither one works every time for me.
Why can’t I do things without a deadline?
I can only answer for myself, and for me the deadline is where the fuel comes from. When nothing is due, nothing pushes back if I move the task to next week, so I keep moving it.
Do self-imposed deadlines work?
They don’t work for me. I set them all the time and I don’t fall for them, because I know I’m the one who picked the date and nothing happens if I miss it.
Does an accountability partner help with tasks that have no deadline?
It hasn’t helped me. I’ve asked friends and family to get on my case if I miss a date, and they don’t scare me enough for it to work. A brand expecting a video in about two weeks does work on me, but only at the last minute.
Why does a task feel bigger the longer I put it off?
For me, dread builds up while it sits, and the task feels heavier than it did on day one. When I finally do it, it’s almost always smaller than the dread was, and sometimes it takes 10 minutes.
What if I don’t know where to start?
Then finding the first step is the task. My reimbursement phone call has sat for about three months because I don’t know who to call, so the first thing to do is find the right number, and the call comes after.
Where I am with this
I finish things that have no deadline when I do them right away, or when I warm up with easier ones first, and I don’t finish them by inventing a due date. I haven’t solved this. The second pile of products is still waiting and the phone call is still on my list. Pick the thing that’s been sitting the longest on yours and do its first step today.
A book I made
The Lightest One
An undated ADHD daily book that never asks you to prioritize. Dump everything in your head, mark each thing light, medium or heavy, and do the lightest one.
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