Friday, January 28, 2011

Frantic Friday #12 - Deadlines

Love 'em or hate 'em, deadlines are a part of life.  Sometimes the deadlines are simple, like needing to make dinner before it is time to eat.  Other times deadlines can be complex, like when you need to prepare for a meeting with clients.

I have a love/hate relationship with deadlines.  While I don't like to feel pressured, I do like to get things finished and move on.

Right now I have a deadline.  I have the opprotunity to make my grandfather very happy, but that means finishing a big project (and when I say big, I mean I have been working on it for 5 years so far.) The deadline I have is seven weeks out. It sounds like a lot of time, but it isn't...not at all.

So I have a decision to make.  I can use this deadline as a motivator, or I can think of it as a giant sword hanging over my head, about to drop on my tiny self. I'm thinking the motivation option sounds a lot less painful.

I am not the only one who faces deadlines.  I am sure many of you do as well.  How we handle them can tell us a lot about ourselves.  If we get anxious, nervous and assume the image of a martyr, then deadlines are miserable.  If we gain energy and momentum while enjoying the challenge, then deadlines can be invigorating.

Today I raise my right hand and promise myself to look at this deadline as an opprotunity to finish a great feat.  The finished product will be so amazing it will go down in history next to the Great Wall of China and the Sistine Chapel.  In seven weeks I will have completed a great task and will be on my way to rest and relaxation.  I will be finished. It will be complete. Whew!

I challenge each of you to look at deadlines for what they are, a time when activity must stop and you look at what you have. Deadlines are all around us, they are not evil (although they can feel that way) and they are not meant to kill us.  They are meant to give us an endpoint to our activity. 

I for one could use an endpoint to activity...as long as that comes in the form of a nap.

No comments:

Post a Comment