How to Make Deadlines Less Stressful and More Motivational

Difficult tasks require low levels of stress, while easy tasks require high levels of stress to trigger mental arousal.

The next time you set a deadline, try placing a rush deadline for easier tasks and set your deadline far out for more difficult projects.

If you lack motivation and don't manage to meet your deadlines, try to set a more pressing deadline for yourself. This will give you a sense of urgency to complete the task.

While we recognize our own procrastination and try to curb it via self-imposed deadlines, these aren't always as effective as deadlines set for them by others.

If you don't have a boss or project sponsor who's setting deadlines for you, it might be worth asking someone to become your accountability partner.

It is naturally harder for us to concentrate on a task or measure progress on a project when we're bored.

To overcome this, turn the task into a game and include rewards, to make it more fun and motivating.