One may ask, where does this love of deadlines come from? Has she always enjoyed timeliness? Is she a very organized person? Is she the type of person who's items all have their own place and notices when they're moved slightly to the right or left?
NO!
This is not me at all. I can't be certain where my love of deadlines developed but I can be certain where I honed this trait I love oh, so much. News. I am a former broadcast journalist who's life, for three years, depended on the very second of the day.
I grew up as a procrastinator and remember fondly my parents growing increasingly frustrated with me and my lack of understanding deadlines. I figured I'll get it done, who cares...right?! WRONG! I always got things done, but never done well.
This is where the news business stepped in and took over my life. I developed the skill of getting things done and getting them done well. My name was going on these stories that maybe a handful of people were watching (it was a small market) and if I was lucky, my face was fronting the story. So, I couldn't make it a complete mistake, it had to look good. This taught me how to prioritize and work quickly. I am grateful for my days in news. The humiliation that came with not getting something done (this only happened once) and what I learned from that. Most days I wish I only ever worked with people who were ex-newsies too.
If you've never had a hard deadline to meet, you don't know what a deadline is. Most people think of deadlines as flexible. No, no way, no how.
I did not make up a magical date and decide that's when a project is due. It in fact is due on the date of the deadline. Not two days later, not two months later and certainly not never. You should not have to send out "friendly reminders" to people you are expecting things from.
I have a planner, (it's a paper planner that looks like it was used in 1982 but it records information and deadlines the same as electronic planners) where I write things down and remind myself to do things. I wish others did the same.
Why is it that no one appreciates deadlines in business? Is this attitude just in nonprofit where the work atmosphere is lax to begin with? How can you make others appreciate your deadline?
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