10 Essential Actions To meet a deadline.
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About The Audio.
10 Essential Actions When Working To Deadlines.
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Audio Transcript.
Hello my name is James and this is a 469bce.com presentation: 10 essential actions when working to deadlines.
Ultimately hitting deadlines is a time management issue where organisation is key. For me, I treat anything needing a deadline as a mini project that needs managing. Making the presumption that you have the skills needed to deliver the project everything else is down to having enough time and the necessary resources. The following 10 points will help you hit every deadline you accept.
1. Everything starts with learning to say no both to yourself and others. Do not accept or set unrealistic deadlines.
2. Accept that deadlines can be a source of stress and need proper handling.
3. Only set or accept deadlines for work you have to produce for others.
I have found that having too many deadlines is counter productive. I take the view that if everything I do needs a deadline then nothing I do is truly important.
Also as pointed out in the book ‘How to be a Productivity Ninja -
”…setting deadlines yourself, for yourself, simply doesn’t work – we know deep down that there are no consequences if we break it.”
4. Recognise and record deadlines early. It seems simple but often we are told of things that need to happen by a certain time and instead of ‘starting-the-clock there and then we leave it to what I call the ‘plenty-of-time-principle’. Rather than setting up some kind of reminder ‘trigger’ immediately in the form of a crude timetable we leave it - a possible disaster. I try to draw up a crude plan immediately, it usually has three dates: THINKING - DOING - DELIVERY.
5. Once you have agreed a deadline for a specific project do not make ‘major’ changes without recalculating the time you need to get things finished. When working for someone else always use changes to extend the deadline - especially if this allows you to deliver early.
6. Make sure you understand everything that is required from you from the outset. With this knowledge break projects down into small jobs, be specific about content and action by clarifying what is required in what timeframe.
7. Don’t let deadlines slip (at the very least produce some form of draft document/report/product etc. Try to deliver early. A day late could destroy your reputation a day early will bring you riches beyond your wildest dreams - only joking but you get my point.
8. Use a system of reminders or to-do-list. Give deadlines priority in your note making/reminder system e.g. the only things I highlight in red are deadlines or warnings that deadlines are approaching. I use an effective App called ‘Any.do’.
9. Allow time for disasters, if it can go wrong it will go wrong.
10. Understand the importance of discipline. If your project plan requires you starting work everyday at 6am. get on with it no excuses.
Thank you for listening.
Hello my name is James and this is a 469bce.com presentation: 10 essential actions when working to deadlines.
Ultimately hitting deadlines is a time management issue where organisation is key. For me, I treat anything needing a deadline as a mini project that needs managing. Making the presumption that you have the skills needed to deliver the project everything else is down to having enough time and the necessary resources. The following 10 points will help you hit every deadline you accept.
1. Everything starts with learning to say no both to yourself and others. Do not accept or set unrealistic deadlines.
2. Accept that deadlines can be a source of stress and need proper handling.
3. Only set or accept deadlines for work you have to produce for others.
I have found that having too many deadlines is counter productive. I take the view that if everything I do needs a deadline then nothing I do is truly important.
Also as pointed out in the book ‘How to be a Productivity Ninja -
”…setting deadlines yourself, for yourself, simply doesn’t work – we know deep down that there are no consequences if we break it.”
4. Recognise and record deadlines early. It seems simple but often we are told of things that need to happen by a certain time and instead of ‘starting-the-clock there and then we leave it to what I call the ‘plenty-of-time-principle’. Rather than setting up some kind of reminder ‘trigger’ immediately in the form of a crude timetable we leave it - a possible disaster. I try to draw up a crude plan immediately, it usually has three dates: THINKING - DOING - DELIVERY.
5. Once you have agreed a deadline for a specific project do not make ‘major’ changes without recalculating the time you need to get things finished. When working for someone else always use changes to extend the deadline - especially if this allows you to deliver early.
6. Make sure you understand everything that is required from you from the outset. With this knowledge break projects down into small jobs, be specific about content and action by clarifying what is required in what timeframe.
7. Don’t let deadlines slip (at the very least produce some form of draft document/report/product etc. Try to deliver early. A day late could destroy your reputation a day early will bring you riches beyond your wildest dreams - only joking but you get my point.
8. Use a system of reminders or to-do-list. Give deadlines priority in your note making/reminder system e.g. the only things I highlight in red are deadlines or warnings that deadlines are approaching. I use an effective App called ‘Any.do’.
9. Allow time for disasters, if it can go wrong it will go wrong.
10. Understand the importance of discipline. If your project plan requires you starting work everyday at 6am. get on with it no excuses.
Thank you for listening.