How to Use Deadlines to Your Advantage

You have undoubtedly felt the pressure of a deadline hovering ahead of you. Perhaps it lingers in the back of your mind or makes you feel guilty. Stop letting deadlines hold you hostage. You do not have to be afraid; you can instead use deadlines to help you become more productive and efficient. Deadlines have the power to make you choose your priorities, plan your tasks and keep you motivated.

Deadlines Make You Set Priorities

When you are working under a deadline, you have to choose what is important and what can legitimately be accomplished within the given time frame. Use your deadline combined with the power of making a list to keep on track. List everything you need to do to accomplish the task at hand. Give yourself permission to ignore those items on your to-do list that suck up time without getting you closer to your goal, such as replying to email or checking social media.

Your priority list can also help you feel a sense of accomplishment before you reach the deadline. Check off key points as you finish them, and keep track of how close you are to your goal. Use the deadline as it approaches to see what you have already accomplished, and let that awareness give you a burst of energy to get you across the finish line.

Deadlines Force You to Plan Ahead

If you have a vague goal or have not really determined how to execute the task you must finish, use a deadline to help you get down to specifics very quickly. Try planning your time backward. Start with the goal, use the list you have already made regarding the steps needed to reach the goal, and plot them out across the time you have available. Every day or two, stop and assess if you are on track. If you are behind schedule, determine whether you need to eliminate any elements you had hoped to include in your project. If you are ahead of schedule, sit back and assess whether you can add some new features, or take the time to go over your work and make sure it is as good as possible.

Deadlines Motivate You

The stress that a deadline sometimes causes can become a prime motivator. Embrace the lurking sense of pressure that a deadline brings to rebuild your motivation for the project. Encourage others on your team to stay focused and on task. Remember what is commonly called Parkinson's Law — work expands to fill the time. Without a deadline, your project could take double or triple the time allotted to it and not end up any better in its execution. With a deadline, you are forced to do your best work without distraction, and your priority list keeps you focused on what is important. Use your deadline to see that pressure as an opportunity to shine rather than a factor adding stress.

Once you realize the power a deadline can have, you are likely to set your own private deadlines to get the maximum amount of work done in the minimum amount of time. Use deadlines wisely to reduce stress and create internal motivation.

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