some people, the very mention of them is enough to raise their blood pressure a point or two.I'm talking about deadlines.
Deadlines are what comes along with the work projects that help keep our businesses afloat.
As a writer, my motto might as well be, "deadlines are us." Every project that I receive comes with deadline -- some more reasonable than others. I found a great post today from Scott H Young, an 18-year old productivity blogger, that lists seven tips for planning arround your deadlines. I have to say that I was impressed. Scott is right on target with his advice.
There are a couple of pieces of advice that I didn't see in Scott's excellent post:
- Stay calm when you face a difficult deadline. (This is something that I'm even trying to teach my kids.) It's too easy to panic when something sounds too hard, but panic is the enemy of getting stuff done. If you remain calm you may find the deadline is less daunting that you thought it was.
- Contact clients immediately if something prevents you from meeting a deadline. Of course, not meeting a deadline should be a last resort (clients get annoyed with freelancers who don't have a good reason for not meeting deadlines). If you do have a reason you can't meet the deadline tell the client why. Be specific. Was the work more than they described? Was there a family emergency?
- Enlist support. If you are working at home and have a family this step can be crucial. Let your family members know that you are approaching a deadline. If they don't offer, ask if they can pick up some of the slack around the house. Perhaps your husband can get the kids out of the house one evening. Perhaps an older child can prepare a simple meal.
Image Source: Jenny Solomon, Art Splat Designs, used with permission.
"Contact clients immediately if something prevents you from meeting a deadline."
I can't emphasize more the usefulness of this advice as I've encountered some troubles in the past because of disregarding this action.
Posted by: Alfa | August 11, 2007 2:06 AM | Permalink to Comment