Tricks for managing deadlines

First hint: Take nothing for granted
 
Deadlines are a fact of life. Since they’re immutable, you’re often judged by your ability to meet them, especially when they’re so tight as to seem nigh impossible.
 
But here’s the thing: They’re not always immutable. Your job is to determine when they are vs. when they’re not, and make the distinction work for you. That’s why this article isn’t called “Meeting Deadlines.” It’s called “Managing Deadlines.”
 
Get the lay of the land
 
The instant you’re handed an assignment, you need to learn its deadline. Even that can’t be taken for granted. A deadline may not be stated until you ask for it. So ask for it. Otherwise, you might be considered late/deemed to have missed the deadline, when you thought you were fine. And that would be your fault. It’s incumbent upon you, the presumptive deadline-meeter, to know what your deadline was in the first place.
 
Sometimes, you might argue, this can get murky. Your client/assigner may not have a deadline, when you ask. You might call it murkiness; we call it an opportunity. This allows you to consider your schedule/workload, and then suggest a deadline that works for you, including a reasonable cushion/contingency so you can nail the project at what you consider an optimum pace.
 
All you had to do was ask.
 
A word about “ASAP”
 
How many times have you been told to do something ASAP? We’ve lost count of the requests. Thing is, we’ve never, ever turned around a project “ASAP.”
 
Wanna know why?
 
We consider “ASAP” to be undefined, kind of like division by zero. “As soon as possible.” What does that mean? What’s “possible”? Indeed, what’s “possible” for you vs. what’s “possible” for someone else? What’s “possible” given your current workload? What’s “possible” without the addition of a hefty rush fee?
 
We’re very polite about this. We need to be, because 1) the term “ASAP” pervades the business vernacular, and 2) we certainly don’t want to piss off our clients. But we will always press for a real, stated, date-and-time deadline when we’re asked to turn something “ASAP.” Incidentally, this forces the client to really think through when they would actually need something done—which is tacit proof that they never did when they’d first uttered that dreaded acronym.
 
When to push back
 
Clearly, there are times when a deadline is simply impossible. (“No, we can’t write you that 300-page book by Friday.”) More often, however, the distinction is subtler. That’s when it’s time to bargain. But here’s the important thing: If you want more time to turn around a job, it’s essential that you ask for that extra time when you’re first handed the assignment.
 
That bears repeating. So here goes: If you want more time to turn around a job, it’s essential that you ask for that extra time when you’re first handed the assignment.
 
If you ask/bargain/cajole for the extra day/days/whatever up front, you come across as someone who has a well-appointed schedule already, and also someone professional enough to look ahead and able to head off any potential conflicts or problems well in advance. All of that reflects very nicely on you.
 
Compare that to the alternate version—in which, two hours before the deadline (i.e., when the client expects to receive your work), you call them and beg for more time; read: “Because you screwed up.” The difference between these two scenarios could not be more stark: In the former, you’re a consummate professional. In the latter, you’re a lazy college student. So if you’re nervous about bargaining for more time when you’re handed a deadline, just think of how career-killing it can be to broach the topic later.
 
Intimacy is power
 
The more you know about your client, the better you’ll be prepared to negotiate when deadlines arise. Just as in your business, some things are more urgent for the client than others, and the more you know about the details of your client’s business, the better feel you’ll have for those assignments that may have more of a cushion than others. If you’re just an order-taker, you’ll never know.
 
When it’s carved in stone
 
Hell, even the I.R.S. can offer extensions, but in the real world of business, there are certainly deadlines that simply can’t be changed. If that’s the case, the first advice we would give is to pace yourself. When that’s still too much, it’s time to get help. But bear in mind that everything we’ve discussed above applies to others you might recruit to assist you: If you wait until the last minute, then they won’t be able to help you either.
 
Got a deadline looming and need help? Contact us and we’ll be happy to let you know how much assistance we can offer. 

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