Deadlines Are Your Friend!

Deadlines. Just the mention of the word DEADLINE makes some people's skin crawl.

"How will I finish this paper by the deadline?" "I don't have my research done. How can I write this article on deadline?"

Oh, but I beg to differ!

Deadlines give me the motivation I need to finish my assignments on time, every time! Without deadlines, I, personally, would be hard pressed to stop working... to be done. To say, "It's ready."

At the beginning of a project, by working backward, I can stay on target. For instance, say I have to write a magazine article in 1 week. That includes researching, writing, and sending the article (by email, which helps!) to the magazine editor.

By backing into the project, I can judge how long it will take me to send the email. Not long... maybe 1 hour. Probably not that long, but I like to allow enough time for power or computer glitches.

Then, I determine how long it will take for me to write the article. Ten hours for writing, rewriting, and editing is a generous amount.

Next, I decide what research I need to perform. Five hours' worth of online research and 3 hours at the library should do it! Okay, eight hours to research my topic.

So, I need 1 hour to send the article, 10 hours to write it, and 8 hours for research. That's 19 hours. Let's round up to 20 just to be safe.

Now I know that in 1 week, I need to produce the article. By breaking my tasks into manageable chunks of time, I can stay on top of the individual assignments to complete the article without becoming frantic.

Ahhh, deadlines!

About the Author

Peggy Hazelwood is the editor of the Albooktross E-bookstore, albooktross.com, home to ebooks and print books in these categories: Business, How To, Humor, Writing/Publishing, and more. Subscribe to our free ezine for book news each week.
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