How To Use Deadlines

June 21 by | 4 comments | Management | Tags: ,
How To Use Deadlines

I’ve always found deadlines to be strangely helpful when needing to come up with new ideas and content. This would definitely fit into what Scott H Young calls the Push.

What he’s established are the misuses of deadlines, as well as when to use deadlines for completing projects.

Attributes of a Good Deadline

  • Objective – Have you reached your goal? If the answer can’t be answered with either yes or no, you need to rephrase it. Vague goals are useless candidates for deadlines.
  • Possible – Does your deadline fit your plan or is it wishful thinking? Don’t buy groceries on an empty stomach on don’t set deadlines when drunk with motivation.
  • Elimination – Can you eliminate parts of your plan if there isn’t time? You need to know what to abandon if you run out of time.
  • Chunked – Break your deadline into components. For this article, I’ve given myself forty minutes to write and ten to do an image.

    • Budget Your Time: How to Use Deadlines – [ScottHYoung]

    • http://www.fatinfo.com Billy

      That’s a pretty interesting way to break down a deadline. Usually I go about the deadline and finish it up before it is due, but never break it down the way you have it. Probably will take a little practice to divide up to similar components as written in this entry.

    • http://www.besttrainers.blogspot.com Adam

      Breaking up seems like a good idea to me.

    • Pingback: Betterize Me » Blog Archive » Use Deadlines to Your Advantage

    • http://www.N8tip.com Nate Just

      I totally agree that deadlines can motivate action. I also think prioritizing by start date is really important.

      What I like to do is pick a due date, then work backwards from that date (adding buffer to budget against Murphy’s Law) to assign myself that date I should get started.