On Deadline: How to Deliver Desults When They’re Due
Meeting deadlines shows that you take your work seriously and that you value other people’s time. Even outside of work, the ability to keep your promises on time shows your commitment to doing the right thing. Here are some important tips for hitting your deadlines (without driving yourself to exhaustion):
• Start with specifics. What exactly is the deadline? Clarify whether “end of the week” means 5 p.m. Friday or first thing Friday morning. And hammer down the results: What does your boss want? How will he or she measure your effectiveness?
• Negotiate. Is the deadline realistic? Try not to accept an assignment you can’t complete on time. Suggest alternative dates, or work out what other tasks you should put on hold in order to give the deadline the attention it deserves.
• Break the task down. Take a look at what’s involved, and identify the individual steps you need to take in order to achieve your goal. Lay them out on a calendar in step-by-step form so you know what you’ve got to achieve, and you can monitor your progress.
• Get started. Don’t procrastinate on step one. Focus on beginning without getting overwhelmed by the number of steps or the magnitude of the task ahead of you.
• Build in a buffer. As you schedule your work, give yourself a cushion of time—mark the due date a few days ahead of the actual deadline, for example. This will help you deal with changes or last-minute emergencies.
• Stay in contact. Let your boss, or whomever you’re accountable to, know where you are on the project. He or she will feel more confident about your abilities, and you’ll be able to alert the powers that be about potential roadblocks before they become full-blown crises threatening the deadline.
• Enlist assistance. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your boss, a friend, or a co-worker will probably be willing to pitch in if you explain the circumstances and the stakes honestly.
