What Is the Scary Hour Productivity Method?

Are there things on your to-do list that you keep putting off? Maybe you’ve been dreading them for a while, or maybe they even cause anxiety when you think about tackling them.

The TikTok-famous “scary hour” method could be the answer to your productivity problems.

The scary hour method is a trend that encourages people to get all of their “scary” tasks done in just 60 minutes. Dedicate an hour to doing the things you’ve been putting off, or the things that are causing anxiety and making you feel heavy. Then, be done and relax.

The reality is, those items might not be as scary as you might think. You just have to get over the initial fear of actually doing them.

When you know you have a 60-minute time limit, you’re more pressured (in a good way) to take on those tasks. As you check each one off your list, your motivation and confidence are likely to increase, making it even easier to move on to the next item.

The best part? The scary hour technique can be used for just about any area of your life. You can use it at home to clean and declutter—maybe to finally fold and put away that mountain of laundry in your bedroom.

Or, you can use it at work to finally get that hard part of your project done.

Write down your goals, visualize yourself getting them done, and give yourself 60 minutes to handle as many tasks as possible. This productivity method helps to take away some of the “fear” because you realize you’re on a time crunch and can take on just about anything for 60 minutes.

If you’ve been feeling unmotivated or you’ve been putting off tasks that make you feel anxious, give the scary hour method a try, and you’ll likely find those tasks weren’t so spooky, after all.