How can a forcing function help me achieve things?
In the David Perell podcast with Daniel Gross they also talked about forcing functions. They started by discussing why Israel seems to be so strong in the tech industry and whether their unique circumstances may be the cause. They talked about how they approach problems as they are forced to deal with the consequences if they don’t - compared to other nations that try to solve problems as they may be impacted by them at some point in the future.
They identified two potentially useful forcing functions. The first is a set deadline - this has been shown time and again to focus delivery. The second involves telling one or more friends who you care about that you are going to do something by a certain time. They may not care about it but you can convince yourself that they do care and you don’t want to let them down. This is why it is important to pick someone you care about as you will care what they think.
Links