Why do we break deadlines
Any task will take as much time as you devote to it - Parkenson's law. That's why sometimes we wonder how quickly we can do something. For the same reason, we often end up at the limit of opportunity in the last minutes of what has been allotted for several days or even weeks.
The word dead-line used to mean the line around the prison, for which prisoners could not be interceded neither day nor night in fear of immediately getting a bullet. Now the deadlines are associated exclusively with work, and their failure does not threaten the execution of the entire department. But the essence remains the same: deadline - life or death for your productivity or project.
Our thinking is arranged in such a way that we put as much time and money into the plan as necessary, if everything goes according to the best scenario.
But obstacles are often encountered along the way, and the scope of work may increase. Then we explain the deadlines by the fact that unforeseen circumstances arose, and not by the fact that we could not take into account the possibility of their occurrence at the planning stage.
How to overcome persistent deadlines
1. Bright start
When you distribute the workload for a month, a week, even a day ahead, drive the beginning of the period as tightly as possible and unload the rest of the time to the deadline as much as possible.
First of all, focus on the most complex, important and time-consuming tasks. You will still make them longer than you expected. Humble yourself. But thanks to your active start, at the end of the period you will have the time that you will spend on solving unplanned problems and completing tasks.
2. Additional deadline
Marketer Matthew Guy of Zapier advises designating a deadline a couple of days earlier than real. But such a situation is not always presented. Naturally, you will still remember how much time you have left, so willpower is needed so as not to break your deadlines.
Come up with some kind of reward for yourself if you do the work within the time frame you set.
3. Public statement
“I solemnly swear to finish the article by five in the evening,” say this not in your head, but loudly to the whole office. Now your pride has entered the game. What will be more painful for you: to force yourself to actively work or to break deadlines and loudly admit your failure?
4. Permanent Deadline Reminder
If we begin work on a large project, then the time frame is usually quite long. Deadline becomes an abstraction - somewhere out there, sometime. The closer it is, the more clearly we realize how much time we have left, and we can more adequately compare its amount and the amount of remaining work.
Set yourself regular reminders that will constantly return you to reality, notifying you about the approach of day X:
deadline expires in a month;
a week;
three days;
day;
8 ocloc'k.
Yes, this is stress, it will be annoying. But maybe this is the only way to spur yourself on?
And if exactly the deadlines are broken, what should I do?
You cannot get used to this situation. About this were the points above. But if it happened, then:
Report as early as possible that you are not meeting deadlines.
Briefly explain. Sometimes the reasons may be objective.
If the fault is yours, offer a bonus or compensation. So it will be professional.
Any task will take as much time as you devote to it - Parkenson's law. That's why sometimes we wonder how quickly we can do something. For the same reason, we often end up at the limit of opportunity in the last minutes of what has been allotted for several days or even weeks.
The word dead-line used to mean the line around the prison, for which prisoners could not be interceded neither day nor night in fear of immediately getting a bullet. Now the deadlines are associated exclusively with work, and their failure does not threaten the execution of the entire department. But the essence remains the same: deadline - life or death for your productivity or project.
Our thinking is arranged in such a way that we put as much time and money into the plan as necessary, if everything goes according to the best scenario.
But obstacles are often encountered along the way, and the scope of work may increase. Then we explain the deadlines by the fact that unforeseen circumstances arose, and not by the fact that we could not take into account the possibility of their occurrence at the planning stage.
How to overcome persistent deadlines
1. Bright start
When you distribute the workload for a month, a week, even a day ahead, drive the beginning of the period as tightly as possible and unload the rest of the time to the deadline as much as possible.
First of all, focus on the most complex, important and time-consuming tasks. You will still make them longer than you expected. Humble yourself. But thanks to your active start, at the end of the period you will have the time that you will spend on solving unplanned problems and completing tasks.
2. Additional deadline
Marketer Matthew Guy of Zapier advises designating a deadline a couple of days earlier than real. But such a situation is not always presented. Naturally, you will still remember how much time you have left, so willpower is needed so as not to break your deadlines.
Come up with some kind of reward for yourself if you do the work within the time frame you set.
3. Public statement
“I solemnly swear to finish the article by five in the evening,” say this not in your head, but loudly to the whole office. Now your pride has entered the game. What will be more painful for you: to force yourself to actively work or to break deadlines and loudly admit your failure?
4. Permanent Deadline Reminder
If we begin work on a large project, then the time frame is usually quite long. Deadline becomes an abstraction - somewhere out there, sometime. The closer it is, the more clearly we realize how much time we have left, and we can more adequately compare its amount and the amount of remaining work.
Set yourself regular reminders that will constantly return you to reality, notifying you about the approach of day X:
deadline expires in a month;
a week;
three days;
day;
8 ocloc'k.
Yes, this is stress, it will be annoying. But maybe this is the only way to spur yourself on?
And if exactly the deadlines are broken, what should I do?
You cannot get used to this situation. About this were the points above. But if it happened, then:
Report as early as possible that you are not meeting deadlines.
Briefly explain. Sometimes the reasons may be objective.
If the fault is yours, offer a bonus or compensation. So it will be professional.
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