Creator’s Curse: Deadlines
Enjoy this second installment of the Creator’s Curse blog series! Click here to see Part 1.
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
~ Douglas Adams
Most of the world hates deadlines. Deadlines have a sneaky tendency to creep up on you before you know it. And yet, deadlines are necessary in all facets of life goals – weight loss goals, travel plans, small business start-ups, graduate school applications, oil changes, and so on and so on.
Deadlines provide:
- Manageable phases – keeping you from getting overwhelmed with size or complexity of a project (think baby steps!).
- Sense of Accomplishment – Deadline completion badge unlocked! Each deadline achieved will give you a great sense of accomplishment, and perhaps even fuel you to continue working for more.
- Productivity – Procrastination is the death of projects. Deadlines set your project as a priority based on date, time, etc.
- Work ethic and discipline – Building a working understanding of your time, the quality of work necessary, and consistently meeting expectations grows with each deadline you conquer. This continuous practice will turn side-projects into small businesses (and hopefully beyond).
Without deadlines, projects tend to drag along or get muddled (or worse). Be strong with your deadlines, and stick to them. If you keep moving your due date, that’s not a deadline, so make sure your deadlines are feasible. Be realistic about your time and try your best not to get overly ambitious. If you think you can finish painting that portrait of your dog in 2 weeks, you should be realistic and extend that deadline to 4 weeks.
And don’t forget to give yourself room for those unexpected life disruptions! We all know that the expected only happens when… unexpected, so add some padding prior to that deadline. And if you don’t need it? You’re ahead of the game, and you’ve completed your projects early — how proactive of you. 😉
Dwan McClendon
Project Manager