Deadlines: Are they a pressure or a productivity assist for you?
In the last post, we defined deadlines and agreed on their value. They help us get things done. I always tell people to give creatives, in particular, a deadline. Where their mind goes without one will be the stuff of a future post. Today, we explore the dark sides of deadlines, and there are many.
Ways to work with deadlines
I tackle deadline stress and success through the lens of my greatest body of experience – 40 years of writing for the communications and public relations needs of clients in varied industries and work settings. It yielded a great deal of observation that has been useful.
Like many folks, I can often have more clarity and certainty in my work life than navigating even my ‘pro-level’ personal phases.
Traditionally, a deadline is defined as a time or date by which something must be completed. But the origin of the term is much darker. It came from American Civil War prisons, where a “dead line” marked the boundary prisoners could not cross without being shot. From literal life-or-death consequences, it evolved into something more psychological—yet still stressful—applied to the world of publishing, journalism, and the arts.
I clean because I have it in my head that even a spontaneous solution to being stuck, should be productive. So, if I am going to do something, anything, at least I will come out with a clean space. Cleaning and moving things around makes room for more ideas, possibly different stuff and easier movement. Don’t you feel calmer, or even more creative in a cleaner, lighter space?
