Here’s How to Manage Your Deadline Junkies
Not all junkies use drugs. Junkies, loosely defined, refers to anyone addicted to a substance, like food or drugs, or to a habit, like exercising or driving fast. Junkies live for the thrill, the rush of adrenaline that comes from practicing their addiction. And there is no greater addiction for deadline junkies than madly working and hitting their deadlines just in the nick of time.
Deadline junkies share certain characteristics, such as:
- Obsessive planning around various deadlines
- Procrastinating because they know they can
- Waiting until the last minute to complete tasks
- Using deadlines as motivation
- Feeling energized as the due date approaches
- Functioning best when the clock is ticking
- Stressing out over interruptions at deadline time
Deadline Junkies’ Pros and Cons
If you’re a deadline junkie, you’re very aware of that big red circle on your calendar that indicates when a project is due. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always follow your timelines; it sometimes interferes with your carefully laid-out plans. While some people get sick with worry about the stress of a deadline — and the potential threats to getting it done on time — deadline junkies feed off that stress.
Deadline junkies don’t miss their marks. Others who don’t respect the deadline as much as a junkie, however, too often dismiss due dates as mere suggestions. A deadline junkie engraves those dates in stone, and God help the person who gets in the way.
Creativity vs. Completion
There are those who claim that creativity goes out the window when the deadline becomes more important than the quality of the finished project. But deadline junkies argue back that their muse lives in those shades of static electricity that seem to emanate from their brains as deadlines loom. While some proclaim that their creativity doesn’t work on a schedule, deadline junkies declare that their senses become even more heightened at just the thought of making a deadline.
They don’t wait for the “mood to strike;” they’re sure it will strike when they need it most. Stress for deadline junkies is intimately intertwined with the creative process. Without a deadline, they flounder and find it difficult to focus. On the other hand, they sometimes are so devoted to the due date that they become closed to options and new ideas.
Finding a Balance
Your clients always appreciate your commitment to meet their deadlines, and they usually don’t really care about how much stress you endured to meet their timetables. But what if they could get an even better product because you’re more focused on the quality of your work than on its due date?
If you believe you fall under the spell of the calendar and find that you regularly wait until the last minute to complete projects — especially because you live for the adrenaline rush — there are ways to manage your condition and still reap the benefits that deadline junkies live for. To find a balance between waiting until you’re in the mood and living on the edge, consider these tips:
- Set deadlines with built-in room to spare. You’d be surprised how you can feel the excitement of meeting a self-imposed deadline and still have the time to make adjustments, add additional input and make your completed project even better.
- Choose deliverables that don’t require your ultimate best to make a client happy. Use those projects to get your “fix.” Place other projects that may require more thoughtfulness outside of the harried, adrenaline-inducing deadline process. Work on them when you feel particularly creative.
- Break a project up into shorter mini-deadlines so you can experience the rush of hitting the mark while building in time for each stage, time for collaboration with others who may not share your passion for deadlines and time to just take it easy as you reach the finish line.
- Manage employees accordingly. If you have some that enjoy the thrill of the deadline and understand its importance, then by all means, give them space to work. If you have other, more laid-back employees, check in on their progress and make adjustments to their workload when necessary.
- Tame your inner beast with relaxation techniques like deep breathing or slow walks outdoors so that the stress you bring on yourself at deadline time doesn’t interfere with the quality of work you produce. Prepare for deadlines with sufficient sleep and healthy meals. Let others know when you’re on deadline and won’t appreciate interruptions.
- Partner with a peer who doesn’t share your addiction to adrenaline rushes. Give each other permission to poke and prod when necessary. Make sure it’s OK to point out when the other’s character is out-of-whack so you can meet a deadline and not lose your clients’ trust. You want them to know that you have their best interests in mind at all times — deadline or not.
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