I honestly don't think there are enough negative words to get across how much I hate deadlines.
Especially short deadlines. Usually I get these at work when someone else hasn't passed a task to me as early as they could have done, or they’ve overpromised on a delivery, usually to a customer, or someone else hasn't done something so it suddenly falls to me.
These last-minute or urgent tasks seem to be getting more and more common. They can, and often do, leave me feeling completely drained. I can go home physically and mentally exhausted, with no energy to do anything personally fulfilling.
Now don't get me wrong, sometimes these last-minute tasks can be a challenge, and that can actually be exciting. I love that side of my role. I've moved away from a strategic role to a more tactical one, so I do enjoy these sorts of tasks ... just not too many urgent ones in the same week.
Anyway, my conclusion through all this is that I hate deadlines. I know we need them, but only when they are used properly.
I remember being told many years ago that deadlines should really only be used when something genuinely bad will happen if you miss them. Not just because someone says, “I sent you an email last week, have you done it yet?” “No.” “Well, could you look at it today for me please?” ... why? Just because you asked me to do something ast week and I haven't yet, well perhaps in the list of tasks I have to complete, YOUR task isn't important!
And don't even get me started on the term "ASAP". That word should be banned because almost everyone uses it wrongly.
I actually find deadlines work best when they are external and carry real consequences. If you miss them, you damage the reputation of the business, lose income, or severely embarrass both the business and yourself. Again though, not when someone else has overpromised something to a customer or supplier.
Do you also find that deadlines are often set arbitrarily by people with very little technical context, or by people who don't really understand your role and what's involved? I do!
I tend to find that a task takes as long as it takes. Setting an arbitrary deadline, especially a tight one, usually just means the work won't be as good.
As part of my thinking (or ranting) about time and time management at work, I've also written about what I'm currently calling Attention Tax.
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