What is it about a deadline that makes you actually get your work done? I’m a journalist; deadlines constitute a way of life for me. I deal with them day in and day out. I don’t typically like them, but I deal with them. I meet them-always.
When I don’t have deadlines imposed on me by someone else, however, I don’t get much done. I tend to meander through my day without a lot of focus. However, if I institute a self-imposed deadline, wallah! I get things done. Why is that?
Now, by a self-imposed deadline I don’t just mean that I tell myself, “Nina, by this Friday, you must have this story written.” Usually, I have a much more significant type of deadline. For instance, a while back I told myself, “Nina, by the time your writing group meets again, you have to have your book proposal updated and ready to be sent out so you can tell them you did it.”
What’s the difference? In the first case, it wouldn’t matter if I missed the deadline. Nothing would happen. I might be disappointed in myself, but that’s about it. In the second case, although technically nothing would happen if I missed the deadline, I wouldn’t be able to tell my fellow writers I had accomplished this goal. This fact drove me forward to finish the project. My writer’s group members didn’t know I had imposed this deadline, but I wanted to be able to say I had accomplished something during the two weeks between our meetings. However, had I told them it was my goal to accomplish this task by this meeting date, they might have been disappointed in me. This would have employed the “accountability partner” element into the process, something that can also drive you to meet your deadlines.
Currently, I’m in the process of preparing to leave home and travel to New York City for a seven-week stay. I’ll be working from there; I can basically do everything I normally do from there without problem. I can’t, however, print documents. So, I looked over all the work I might want to accomplish during that time, and I realized that all the book proposals and query letters I might want to send during that that seven-week period had to be sent now…before I left. That gave me a deadline. (Not to mention that more than half of the agents and publishers are in New York City…) And, despite the fact that it put a lot of extra stress on me (that I didn’t need) and I lost a lot of sleep in the process, I ended up meeting my self-imposed deadline. I sent out more proposals and queries in a two week period than I’d sent out in a year (or more).
So, why do we need deadlines? Why do I function better-or why am I more productive-with a deadline hanging over my head? Obviously, I need the pressure of a time crunch and a perceived consequence to get my work done. However, it would be so much nicer to just get my work done without all that pressure and stress and lack of sleep.
I deduce that I don’t lack passion for what I do, for passion definitely drives us to complete our work (if we are passionate about that work) without a deadline. I deduce that the fear of rejection, failure and success all weigh into this equation. They hold me back from simply doing what I want to do on a daily basis. They cause me to procrastinate and “meander’ through my day being less productive than I’d like. A deadline forces me to move through my fear and simply do what I need to do-what I know I want to do and must do to achieve my goals-to fulfill my purpose and see my passion come to fruition.
Some of the most successful people in the world live with self-imposed deadlines every day. For instance, Jack Canfield, “America’s success coach,” and the author of many books that address this subject, says that our goals should all be chunked down into pieces that are then assigned tasks with deadlines. If we then move forward step by step doing something little each day to meet those deadlines, we achieve our goals-we become successful.
So, maybe this need for deadlines simple represents human nature. Maybe it has less to do with moving through fear than simply getting organized and finding a way to make achieving our goals a “task” of life.
It would be nicer, though, to simply sit down each day and find the inspiration to get these things done. Inspiration comes from within; it’s not something imposed upon us. It’s easier, though, to be inspired to paint a picture, choreograph a dance, write a book, or go for a walk than it is to do the busy work…the stuff that feels like work. And therein lies a big part of the problem as well. Those of us who call ourselves “artists” would rather just create art than do the business of art making. Without the business…no art shows up in the world.
All this to say: I’m doing the business these days. I’m imposing deadines, and I’m getting a lot of things done. And while it’s stressful sometimes, and some days I feel really tired, I’ve been, oh, so productive. And you know what? That feels great. It’s also fabulous to think that I’ve increased the chances of actually manifesting what I desire enormously through all this concerted effort and focused action.
So, why don’t you try imposing a deadline or two on yourself? You might be surprised at the results you achieve.
