How Do You Perform on a Tight Deadline?

by Ryan Biddulph

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Everything becomes magnified when you are under a tight deadline.

Emotions, thoughts and pretty much everything within you quickly undergoes a microscopic analysis. I am under a tight deadline now. I have roughly 20 minutes to write this blog post before I head off to a basketball game.

How am I doing? Good. Why? I am performing from a calm, relaxed, free-flowing vibe. But the old me would rush, hurry and panic my way to diminished results. I would then beat myself up for doing a poor job. I tired of that sick cycle and eventually decided to engage in energy management on a daily basis.

Tight Schedules Expose Fears or Freedoms

Being on a tight schedule exposes your fears or freedoms because how you genuinely feel surfaces during seemingly pressurized times. Folks tend to worry, panic, lash out and act quite rudely to get the job done on time because of fear. People fear not reaching a set goal in a specific time frame for the possible outcomes of not reaching the goal.

Someone may risk getting fired for not reaching a deadline. Other folks may get a tongue lashing or perhaps your client fires you. In that moment of truth, you can proceed by burying the fear more deeply or you can unearth the fear to feel it, to clear it and to exhibit the freedoms you possess when working against the clock.

I am free to miss this 20 minute blog post deadline because I am the CEO of Blogging From Paradise. Sure I will be up to 2 AM to get my work done for the day but I made it a point to build my blog almost exclusively on passive income streams. I despise looking at the clock and doing anything in time. Time is an illusion.

Re-Assess Your Life

Some lines of work are completely driven by meeting deadlines. But do you genuinely enjoy this way of life? Consider re-assessing your life, unless you have fun and feel free by working on a tight schedule.

I know some people love working on the clock as a motivating factor. I hate doing anything with a specific time frame in mind as far as other people telling me what I need to do and when I need to do it. Naturally, I wrote and self-published 120 plus eBooks and converted so many to paperback and audio books that I have nearly 200 products on Amazon.

Selling on Amazon is a deadline-free zone. Everything is passive.

I disliked working under tight deadlines, on a strict schedule, at prior jobs. I gained clarity to move in a fun, freeing direction where I call the shots. Of course I need to eventually put in the work for the day but I do so on my own terms.

Consider taking a similar route unless you thrive on meeting deadlines for your job or business.