Deadlines. Stressful, But We Accomplish Nothing Without Them
Posted September 16th, 2013
Deadlines are a fact of life. They are something we constantly have to deal with. Sometimes, there just seems to be too much to get done in the time allotted, and so we ask to have the deadline moved back. But is this a good idea? Some recent research indicates that it’s not.
What happens when a deadline is pushed back is that we run into the same problems all over again because we don’t make very good use of the extra time.
This happens, first of all, because when the deadline is pushed back, so is our motivation. We lose our drive because we have pushed back our goal further into the future. Research has shown that the closer we get to a goal, the more our motivation increases, because we sense that approach to the finish line. Conversely, the further away a goal is, the less pull it has on us.
Also, when we push back a deadline, and get that extra time, we tend to procrastinate more. Electronic tax filing has shown the truth of this. The number of requests for tax filing extensions shot up after the IRS began electronic filing. By making it easier to file, people assumed they had more time, and so put off doing their taxes.
Another reason why pushing back deadlines doesn’t work is that we aren’t really very good at determining how long things take. We routinely assume things won’t take as long as they actually do. We don’t take into account the fact that some things might go wrong. We also seldom think about everything that is involved in completing the project. We skip over steps in our mind.
So, if it was poor planning in the first place that led to the extended deadline, it’s likely that we will have the same planning problem even with more time.
These problems suggest ways to better handle extended deadlines. First, to shorten the distance between where you are and where you eventually want to be, you should make several short-term goals for various parts of your project that lead up to the final goal. Another thing to do is plan better – think about similar projects you have done in the past and how long they took. Also, think about what might go wrong and how you might prevent these things from happening. And think realistically about all of the things you have to do in order to complete the project, so that you can plan time for everything.
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