Deadlines: Friend or Foe?

Quite some time ago I discovered one of my top strategies for getting stuff done efficiently: the simple act of setting a deadline.

I'm a mom of two girls and a rambunctious rescue hound and I have a penchant for rehabilitating old, beaten-up houses. Between overseeing distance learning, running Tide Risers, coaching my private clients, tackling aging plumbing systems, and all the other tasks associated with household management and start-up life, my to-do list is frighteningly long. Without my friend the deadline, I would be constantly spinning my wheels and never getting anything done.

Here are my thoughts on what deadlines can do for us, and why I think we should joyfully embrace them:

Photo by Anton Malanin on Unsplash

1. Deadlines inspire a beneficial fear of failure.

We do a lot of work in Tide Risers around fear of failure and how to keep it from holding us back. Sometimes, however, this fear can be put to our advantage. There’s nothing like the adrenaline rush of being up against a deadline to get creative juices flowing.

2. Deadlines give us incremental wins.

One reason why I don’t like New Year’s resolutions is they are just too binary. You achieve them and you win, or you don’t and you fail. They only come along once a year, so the stakes are high. Deadlines throughout the year give me plenty to celebrate along the way when I get little things done.

3. Deadlines are a vital organizing tool.

Project management comes easier when you can work backwards from deadlines. Once I’m organized and know when I must complete specific tasks, I can breathe easier.

One of my favorite pieces of advice about household tidying is if you want to get your house in order, throw a party. You’ll have to do all the cleaning and organizing you need to have guests in, and it gives you a hard and fast deadline by which time you need to get it done. Same thing goes for work projects. (Of course I’m dying to put this trick to work the moment we’re allowed to have house parties again!)

For some other tricks to getting things done, check out my blog post: Accountability Tactics: How to Make Yourself Just Do It.

Also, join me and Katie Singh on Wednesday to learn more about how Tide Risers can help you pursue your ambitions with efficiency and accountability.