We all have experienced deadlines over which we have no control. We have to pay our taxes by April 15. We need to renew our driver’s license or car registration. We have to take an exam or submit an application. We need to prepare a report or presentation. We need to pay our bills. Deadlines. The word itself sounds kind of ominous. And rightly so. Are you aware that the term “deadline” originated in prison camps during the American Civil War? It referred to a physical line or boundary. Any prisoner who crossed the line would risk death. Guards were ordered to shoot to kill. Later the term deadline came to be used by newspapers as a “time limit” in order to get the latest news printed and distributed on time. Fortunately for all of us, a deadline is no longer a life or death situation. Sometimes it may feel that way, but it’s not! You can take control of the deadlines in your life.
Often we create our own deadlines. Perhaps you’re planning to get married soon and planning the event. Or maybe you’ve bought a new house and need to move. You’ve just created a deadline. And somewhere along your life, you have been programmed to respond to deadlines in a particular way. Even if it’s not a good way, it’s a way that you know. We’re more comfortable with familiar. It’s less painful than doing something differently. Doing things differently requires conscious and mindful thought. We often run on autopilot. Our subconscious mind repeatedly performing tasks in the same way over and over again. Some of us created a habit of staying up all night cramming before an exam. Or we wait until the last minute to get things done. We create a time limit which restricts our abilities to perform at the highest level. We make unnecessary stress for ourselves and often make life stressful for those around us. We create a situation where we are unable to do our best.
Everyone can be more successful in dealing with deadlines by taking control. Do you wait until April 15 to file your taxes? There are many opportunities to do it sooner. Why not do it? Make yourself a deadline of March 15. If you have less time to complete the task, you most likely will increase your focus and your effort to get it done. Are you aware of Parkinson’s Law? Parkinson’s Law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”.
Consider this. How tidy can you make your house when a friend calls and says they’ll stop by in 20 minutes? Or how quickly can you leave for the airport when you’ve overslept? How much can you accomplish and how fast can you do it? You will notice that your effort significantly increases when your time is limited.
When you give yourself deadlines, you help yourself to achieve your goals. You become the boss of your life. As you think about your life and your daily schedule, it can help to use Parkinson’s Law to your advantage. A simple way to do this is to break your task into smaller goals. If you have a project that you estimate will take three hours, use 55 minute time blocks. Work steadily for 55 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. You will feel at ease because you have allowed yourself time to take a break and refocus your attention. The mini mental breaks energize you and make you more productive. And do it again and again. Within your three hours, you have pushed yourself to success. Knowing your time is limited will help you to be more effective. You may find that with concentration and focus, your project is completed in less time than you had anticipated.
When you create a new way of doing things…when you realize your effort has influenced your success…you are more likely to repeat the process. By repeating the process, you are programming yourself to react to life the way you want. And you feel more in control. There is nothing to fear. You can relax knowing that no one is going to shoot you. You can use the deadline of a time limit as inspiration. When you cross the line, you have been successful in completing your goal.