the beauty of a deadline

I know, I know, most of us hate deadlines. (I think the word “dead” might have a little to do with this, but still.) But if we’re really honest with ourselves we have to admit that deadlines help us GET THINGS DONE. More important, when you know you have a deadline and it’s a reasonably distant one (not an “I need this yesterday” one) it helps us GET THINGS DONE RIGHT.

Such is the case for the most successful clients I work with. They know they’ll be giving a presentation in three months so they contact me NOW. They don’t wait til 5 days before they’re to speak to 800 people. They give themselves time to design and develop their presentation and even time to (gasp, no kidding) practice it! OUT LOUD. Even my most reticent (a polite way of saying they HATE it) speakers are exponentially less nervous and thus have an exponentially better experience when they take advantage of their deadline and use it as the impetus to prepare.

For me deadlines give me something to look forward to, something to move toward, a finish line.