'This one-word piece of advice is either the best or worst thing I've ever read.'

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Motivation and productivity gurus are really pulling out the big guns to get our lazy, tired asses off the couch in these final weeks of the year.

Forget 'eating the frog' or 'time-blocking'. The hot new motivational tip is, apparently... death.

I was scrolling through The Guardian the other day when I came across an article titled '17 top tips from experts on how to stay motivated'. Intrigued, I clicked. (Yes, the irony of needing motivation to click an article about motivation is not lost on me).

Tucked among the usual tips was this gem from author Austin Kleon:

"Two things motivate me: death and deadlines. The easiest and most enjoyable way to keep death ever-present in the mind is to read the obituaries every morning. When I read about people who did something with their lives, it makes me want to do something with mine."

Watch: The morbid motivational advice causing Holly Wainwright to hyperventilate. Post continues below.

I immediately sent it to my colleagues, asking, "Is this a joke?" I was expecting a chorus of "WTFs" and "how crazy is this?"

Instead, they all... agreed with him.

It seems like everyone either thinks about death every minute of every day… or they avoid it at all costs. You can probably guess which camp I fall into.

One colleague told me she'd recently discovered "4K Weeks" posters. The concept is morbidly simple: You give them your birthday, and they send you a poster with a grid of 4,000 squares— roughly the number of weeks in an 80-year life.

The weeks you've already lived are filled in. The blurb says, "When you know you have to fill in a square on Monday, it makes it a little harder to squander this week."

Curious, she put in her birth date to see the preview. She saw the block of black squares representing her life so far, and a band of white squares left at the bottom, and... she "had a hyperventilation".

I decided to but on a brave face and see my poster…

I couldn't even get through the first step, where I was told how many weeks I had lived and how many I (optimistically) had left.

Please see below so you understand my freak-out.

3,000 weeks feels like 3 seconds. Image: 4kweeks.com.

I didn't even get to my poster, and yet I was able to relate to my colleagues' "hyperventilation."

However, I soon realised that people are actually obsessed with this motivational tactic.

Another colleague says she finds the knowledge that everything is finite "incredibly clarifying."

She's not alone. Clinical psychologist Irvin Yalom argued that people who face the reality of their death live a more "authentic" life, aligning their goals with their values and liberating them from "trivial concerns."

Comedian Hannah Berner apparently says to herself, "You're going to die one day," every single time before she walks on stage. It's meant to be liberating, to remind her that the stakes aren't that high, so she may as well take the risk.

And look, I get it. In theory. But I just can't take this on.

I honestly can't think of anything worse. If I'm going to be motivated by an intense, abstract feeling, it's not going to be death, it's going to be the fear of regret. I think I live off that; the idea that if I don't do something, I will 100 per cent regret it.

Reading obituaries over my morning coffee doesn't make me want to seize the day; it makes me want to crawl back into bed and watch all three seasons of Derry Girls.

That 4K poster doesn't make me want to live my life; it makes me want to find a different chart (preferable something kind, within the stars).

Maybe I'm just not built for this kind of intense, existential motivation.

Some people see the "ultimate deadline" and feel a clarifying urgency. I see it, and I panic.

You guys can keep your bucket lists. I'll stick to my Google Calendar.

You can listen to our full chat about whether this morbid motivational advice is helpful or hives-inducing on Mamamia Out Loud below.

Want more from the Mamamia Out Loud team? Sign up to our newsletter written by Holly Wainwright here, and follow Em Vernem on Instagram @emilyvernem.

Feature image: Supplied.