Here are some suggestions for when you’re creating deadlines:
- Create both long and short term deadlines – Long-term deadlines are good, but you also need stepping stones to measure your progress. If you don’t break-up your tasks, you’ll be knocked over by the giant wave of things to do. Don’t leap across the river, use stepping stones.
- Get outside help – Have others help you create your deadlines. Research shows that people who are given a series of interim goals perform better then when they establish the interim goals themselves. It also helps to have people track along with your progress.
- Be honest - Sometimes deadlines are unreasonable. Look to the past as a guide of what you’re capable of doing. And if you’ve got more work then usual, be honest with yourself. And if you end up missing a deadline then adjust accordingly for next time.
[Bonus tip]: Under promise, over deliver. Deadlines are not only for you, but others. Meeting a deadline will make you feel good, but it can also get you promoted.