Deadline is an interesting word. It was created during the American Civil War by the horrifically cruel Confederate Army officer Heinrich Hartmann Wirz, who ran the prison in Andersonville, Georgia. Wirz had his men create a “line” within the stockade, about 20 feet from the walls. In places, the line was marked with posts, but in others, it was just sort of ‘the imaginary line between this stake and that post.’ The point of this line was that he instructed his men, who stood along the top of the stockade walls, to kill any prisoner who crossed or even touched the said “dead line”. (Trial of Henry Wirz, Report of the Secretary of War, Oct 31, 1865)
This probably isn’t (checking the calendar) the best time to speak of deadlines. We may have lost the sense of literal violent death the term originally carried, but the idea of deadlines can still carry a serious emotional punch, filling us with anxiety and fear.
What matters is understanding that first, we’re a million miles from the original meaning of the term. Missing even the most critical deadlines may bring on negative consequences, but nothing like in Andersonville; deadlines are no longer DEAD lines. Remind yourself of that, as often as needed, if you’re someone who has deadline anxiety.
The second critical point is that a deadline is just an imaginary line that marks out a single point in time.
For most people, the time before and leading up to a deadline looks roughly like this:
The trick to avoiding the panic and do all the work while crying stages is getting on top of the time BEFORE those.
Deadlines are only scary as they get closer. Like sharks. (Sorry. Don’t be afraid of sharks; they keep our ecosystem healthy.) The point is to make the most of the distance between yourself and the sharks deadline. If you finish the work while there is still so much time, you get to miss all the panic and crying.
THAT IS THE GOAL.
Think of it as AVOIDING the deadline.
To do that, you need to figure out how much time there is leading up to the deadline. That can be a daunting prospect when you’ve been conditioned to panicking or feeling anxious about deadlines. Treat it like a dental visit or something else you might dread (this isn’t helping, is it?). Designate a day for gathering all the deadlines you know you’ll have for the year or semester (whatever works best for you). Take the time and do the work to identify where those deadlines are and then write plans that you can follow to get the work done BEFORE the deadline. BEFORE the panic and crying ever has to happen. Put them in order by date and add them to a calendar. Set up reminders and triggers as needed.
Once you’ve determined where all the deadlines are and how to avoid getting anywhere near them, check in on things every so often. If new deadlines have come up, draft a plan for them and add those to your larger Strategic Plan for Avoiding Deadlines™. Just touch base with your plans and where you are each week to ensure you’re not letting things slide.
Not only are you avoiding the stress and worry of getting anywhere near those scary deadlines, but you’re going to look like a time management rockstar to others. That’s not the point…but it is a nice cherry on top of your brand new and well-earned calm confidence.
(And if you happen to be one of those high-achieving procrastinators who feel they are most motivated to perform by waiting until the very last moment, maybe reconsider where and how you’re getting your serotonin rushes. How we choose to work vis-à-vis deadlines often has an impact on those around us. Please consider working on sane time management skills…and then book yourself a solo vacation where you can get your kicks by swimming with sharks.)
