TikTok’s Genius ‘Scary Hour’ Could Solve Your Procrastination Problems

There’s a treasure trove of tasks I’ve been doing pretty much anything to avoid—customer service calls, product returns, and e-mails that require too much finesse for me to handle on a busy day. So eventually, these nagging to-dos will collect, get built up to monumental tasks in my mind, and sit on my to-do list for weeks longer than they probably should. But a TikTok favorite productivity hack—the “Scary Hour”—seems to be the solution to my pro-level procrastinating.

I gave the Scary Hour a test run, and found that it was a genius trick to get me to zip through all those nagging chores—many of which took far less time than I ever expected to complete. (In fact, my next Scary Hour session may be more like a scary half hour instead!) Want to give this get-more-done scheme a whirl? Get the scoop behind it, plus my tips for Scary Hour success.

What Is the Scary Hour?

This TikTok-approved productivity hack basically requires you to set aside an hour each day or each week to do all those tasks you’ve been dreading or feeling anxious about. Think expense reports at work, calling a customer service line, sending a bummer text, or even less-fun chores at home, like cleaning out the fridge. You limit yourself to an hour, and just commit yourself to getting the work done.

The reason it’s so successful for so many? It keeps it to a manageable amount of time (you only have to suffer for an hour, tops!), it squeezes all those dreadful chores together so the pain is concentrated to a short time frame—and once you get your first taste of success with one Scary Hour task, it’s likely your other items will feel much less stressful.

Tips for Making the Scary Hour a Success

Want to put the Scary Hour into practice? I tried it myself—and plan to keep with it. Here’s what helped me make the Scary Hour routine a complete success.

Block off the time on your calendar

This is stuff that you’ve been avoiding doing, so it’d be all too easy to give that time to a work meeting or a root canal appointment (if calling to set one up hasn’t already been hanging out on your to-do list for weeks!). Pen it into your calendar, and hold yourself to it—without interruptions.

Find a good time to schedule it

Many Scary Hour fans opt to do it first thing in the morning, when they’re feeling fresh and ready to tackle something tough. A benefit to that? Once you get through that gauntlet of tough to-dos, the rest of your day will (hopefully) breeze on by.

There’s also a case to be made for saving it for the end of your day, so you can feel that much better and more accomplished when you’re done. The endorphin rush after completing your Scary Hour is pretty strong, and a nice finale before you go into relax mode.

I tried it both ways, and found that the morning worked a bit better and resulted in more things getting done. At the end of the day, I kept finding “one more thing” that had to be done before I could start my Scary Hour. (Procrastination at its finest!)

Make a list of all the “scary” stuff you have to get done

To make sure you make the most of every Scary Hour minute, make a list of the things that need to be done, so you aren’t wasting time pondering what you should do next. I also found that prioritizing the items and committing a little time beforehand to low-stakes Scary Hour prep— gathering the bills, finding emails in my inbox, and gathering the tools for putting up my new curtain rods—enabled me to plow through so much more during the actual Scary Hour. And of course, there’s no denying the satisfying little buzz you get when you cross something off your to-do list.

Set a timer

Hopefully, you won’t have to put a whole hour into it after a while, but setting a timer for an hour will ensure that you understand there’s an end point to the madness—and give it a bit of a competitive, game show-like vibe that kept me moving.

Avoid distractions

If phone calls and texts aren’t on your Scary Hour list, banish your smartphone to avoid the distractions of notifications or doomscrolling. Set yourself up somewhere where other distractions—whether it’s your too-cute dog or snacks in the pantry—won’t be able to get you off task.

Treat yourself

Hey, you’ve gotten through a lot of hard stuff in that Scary Hour, so go ahead and give yourself an award! Whether you opt for some cozy reading time, your favorite fancy coffee drink, or another self-care favorite, a little prize at the end may be all the encouragement you need to book another Scary Hour for the next week—or even the next day.