Dedadlines

I already planned to write this blog on deadlines, but last Sunday the New York Times beat me to it.  Of course, that is bound to happen once in a while because they have a lot of writers to keep busy, and I just have me.

The gist of the NY Times article is that we more reliably complete a task when we have a specific goal tied to an explicit deadline.  This is true even if the deadline is self-imposed.

The NY Times thought they were writing about politicians setting deadlines for legislation, but I believe they were really writing about me.

Whenever I see a friend I haven’t talked to for a few months, one of their first questions is often, “How is your writing going?”

My answer is always the same.  “My blog is going fine.”

Eight years ago I gave myself a personal deadline. Every Tuesday morning I would post a new blog.  To allow time for editing, finding a photo, and posting, I need to complete my draft by Sunday evening.  I admit, once or twice that has slipped to Monday morning.  Well — once it even slipped to Monday evening, (with very little time for editing).

Other than my blog, what else have I written during the past eight years?  There were three People Tools books – all finished under strict deadlines set by a publisher. Two children’s books, also finished with a publisher’s deadline in mind.  I also write a large number of emails each day, usually at the last possible moment.  I seem to operate the same way most of us do – no deadline, no writing.

Strangely, when I was married to Susan, she told me that she was going to have to stay up late one night to finish a paper for school.

“Oh,” I said.  “It’s due tomorrow morning?”

“No.  It’s due in three weeks, but I like to finish assignments as early as I can.”  That was weird, even admirable, but clearly, as writers, we were incompatible.

I’ve also set a maximum of 600 words for each blog.  I like to keep it short – a reading time of less than three minutes.  The blog you are currently reading is now over 300 words, which is long enough.

And I have another deadline tonight, notably to finish reading the Sunday NY Times before they send the Monday edition.  If I didn’t respect that deadline, I’d still be reading news ten years old.

If you have any comments for me, please take note: the deadline is Tuesday at 3:00 am Pacific Daylight Savings Time.

Alan