The benefit of external deadlines, for me, isn't so much about motivation, but about prioritization. When you have a lot of stuff you could be doing, deadlines

The benefit of external deadlines, for me, isn't so much about motivation, but about prioritization. When you have a lot of stuff you could be doing, deadlines are an effective tool in ensuring you work on what is most important. I don't think they should be the sole or even primary tool for this, but they're pretty helpful.