Deadlines don’t need to be deadly
First coined in the 19th century, the word “deadline” originally described a line around a prison, which, if the prisoners crossed, they would immediately be shot. Although not as extreme nowadays, deadlines can still be pretty dreadful. Some argue that deadlines stress us out tremendously, negatively affecting the quality of work and our health, and that we would all be better off without them.
Surprisingly however, research done on MIT students shows that people work smarter and faster if someone else sets deadlines for them. This improved performance is explained by the Yerkes-Dodson law: A person’s performance increases as their arousal (in this case, nervousness) increases. But there are limits. Too much stress causes performance to decline as workers grow overwhelmed.
Ergo, deadlines are not the problem here. Rather, the way we think about them is. In spite of being great incentives, deadlines fail due to poor planning. Managers often lack a clear understanding of where the work stands, and how much more needs to be done to reach a milestone. Poor communication within a team thus undermines the common goal and results in top executives unilaterally declaring impossible-to-achieve due dates. With too little time, and too much to do, team members never get the chance to triumph over their deadlines. Deadlines are either never met at all, or are otherwise hastily met with the work sloppily finished.
Project management has identified two common pitfalls with deadlines, scope creep and planning fallacy. Even if your deadlines were planned perfectly, your project could still derail if its scope keeps increasing. Sometimes the only thing to do is put your foot down and say no. Yet another major reason is the so-called planning fallacy, our inborn tendency to underestimate how long a piece of work can take to complete.
How do we keep up with deadlines? First, never agree to impossible deadlines and, never overcommit. Carry out necessary discussions and make sure everyone is on board with your plan. Communication is key. Be in constant correspondence with your clients and keep them posted on all the latest updates.
This will not only result in happy customers, but would also force you to stay on track. At Zoho, we follow an agile approach when it comes to setting targets. In other words, we break down our work into bite-sized chunks instead of taking it all together. Moreover, we never forget that tasks and projects always takes longer than expected. We plan for unanticipated complications. Reminders and to-do lists help us keep focus. Too many things to keep track of? An effective project management software can do the trick.
Recently I read about a NASA Project, in which they sent a spacecraft to Jupiter so as to take some close up shots of the surface. This meant that the rocket had to be checked and rechecked and ready for launch on a particular day and if anything went wrong, the project would be shelved for an indeterminate period. If your project is that crucial, there is simply no space for mistakes. You need to get to work early, plan ahead, set workable deadlines and keep extra time on your schedule for everything that could possibly go wrong. Because when that day arrives, you just have to get it right.
On the other hand, is this project your baby? Nine people cannot make a baby in a month. It needs the best care, the best nourishment and the best resources until it’s due. In such cases, go easy on yourself with a series of internal deadlines just so you don’t lose track.
In essence, it’s all about what you are working on. How important it is and how best to bring it to fruition. Be it momentum you’re looking for in your work or be it art, deadlines don’t need to be deadly. It’s just that little something to get you there.
