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1-2-3: The Counterintuitive Deadline Trick That Gets More Done in Less Time
sent by Joaquín Kosegarten | September 08, 2026
Most people set deadlines to give themselves enough time.
That sounds reasonable.
It’s also exactly why work often takes longer than it should.
The trick the highest performers use does the opposite, and it sounds almost wrong until you try it.
1 Idea
Set deadlines that feel slightly too short, on purpose.
2 Ways it saves you time
1. There is a well-documented principle called Parkinson’s Law: work expands to fill the time available. Give yourself 3 hours for a task that needs 90 minutes, and it will somehow take 3 hours. Give yourself 60 minutes, and it usually still gets done. A tight deadline cuts the natural drift, padding, and second-guessing that quietly steal 30 to 60 minutes from almost every task.
2. Tight deadlines also force ruthless prioritisation. When time is short, your brain instinctively skips perfectionism and unnecessary detours. You stop spending 20 minutes choosing fonts and start spending 20 minutes finishing the work. That trade alone can save you an hour a day, and the output’s usually just as good.
3 Steps to Get It Done:
1. Look at your next important task. Estimate how long you think it will take. Then cut that estimate by 25 to 30%.
2. Write the new deadline somewhere visible. A timer, a sticky note, a calendar block, anything that makes it real.
3. Start working as if the deadline is non-negotiable. When the timer ends, stop. You will be surprised how much you finished, and how little the missing 30% mattered.
Conclusion
More time doesn’t produce more output. It usually just produces more drift.
Tight deadlines turn focus from a struggle into a default. Try this on one task tomorrow and watch how much faster you finish.
This is what the Task Efficiency step in Get It Done is built around: working smarter with the hours you already have, instead of chasing the ones you don’t.
“But tight deadlines stress me out and lower my quality”
That’s the trap of long deadlines talking. Real stress comes from open-ended tasks that haunt you for days, not from focused, time-bound work. A tight deadline is uncomfortable for a few minutes. A loose one drains you for a week. Pick your discomfort wisely.
As promised — 1 minute that can save you hours
Yours in Getting It Done,
Joaquin Kosegarten
Author of Get It Done
Creator of the 1-2-3 Get It Done Newsletter
P.S. Fun Fact: Cyril Northcote Parkinson, the British naval historian who first described Parkinson’s Law in a 1955 essay for The Economist, came up with the idea while observing the British Civil Service. He noticed that even as the Royal Navy shrank, the number of administrators continued to grow, and the time required to complete bureaucratic tasks grew with them. His original observation was satirical, but decades of psychology research have since confirmed it as a real cognitive pattern. Give yourself less time and your brain becomes more efficient. Give yourself more time and your brain finds creative ways to use every minute, whether the work needs it or not.
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The Counterintuitive Deadline Trick That Gets More Done in Less Time
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1-2-3 Get It Done is a weekly 1-minute read trusted by busy professionals who want to achieve more in less time without burning out.
Each issue gives you 1 idea, 2 ways it saves you time, and 3 steps to put it into action immediately.