A task you dislike needs a time and a place, not a place on the list. Tuesday at ten, at the kitchen table, is a plan. Soon is not.

What the research says

A Cochrane review of behavioural activation describes a brief approach that works by changing how a person engages with their surroundings, including planning activity deliberately, and notes it may need fewer resources than other therapies. It was reviewed as a treatment for depression in adults, so using scheduling for an ordinary avoided task borrows the idea rather than the evidence.

Strength of evidence: one line of research. A single study, or a theoretical account.