The Importance of Getting Started Early to Meet Deadlines

 

Image Credit: StartupStockPhotos via Pixabay

 

February is such a short month. This was the thought I had at the start of the month. Yes, February may seem like a regular month to some people, but a month can go by fast, which is what this month did.

 

And this is why I started on my February deadlines early.

 

I have an article due at the end of every month, and I have found that if I start working on this article at the beginning of the month, and work on it as often as possible during the month, I will have it ready to submit by month’s end.

 

Recently, I had one month to write an article for Able News. Instead of thinking “Oh, I have time,” I got started on that article ASAP! (That article required interviewing people, so it’s a good thing that it didn’t need to be rushed.)

 

The point is that the shortness of February served as a good reminder to get started on meeting deadlines as early as possible. Instead of thinking “I have a whole month to write that, I have time,” it’s a good idea to get started with writing that thing you have a deadline for as soon as you are able to. Don’t wait your time out. Spend that time doing something proactive in order to meet your deadline. Draft an outline, do some research, start prewriting your piece. Start thinking about your writing project so that you will be thinking about it here and there as the days pass.

 

One other deadline that I have is for a book. Because I would like this book to release in December, the publisher I am submitting it to let me know what month I need to get it to them. Before I received this news, I was hard at work revising this manuscript. When I shared the method I am using to have the manuscript ready in time, the person I shared this with said, “Wow.” He asked why I was doing so much work on it each day and I explained that this method will ensure that I am able to meet the deadline to submit it. It’s a method that works just fine for me, and it’s one I’m glad I started using early because it’s just the right process to meet that deadline.

 

With a gig I had recently (and will have again soon), my deadline to turn in my work was every Monday by 10AM my time. I’d spend the week working on the new assignments I had lined up for me and turn them in on the following Monday. I would wake up early on that Monday (which I started to refer to as “Deadline Day”) and start getting my work sent in first thing. I made it the first task on my list every Monday morning so that I could meet that deadline. (Sometimes, I went without my morning coffee in order to do this!) This practice ensured that I got my work turned in on time every Monday (and so that I could get paid on that same day!). I didn’t sit around and relax on those mornings, thinking, “Eh, I have all the time in the world to meet my deadline.” I really didn’t. So I made it a priority to do that FIRST every time Deadline Day rolled around.

 

If you have a deadline, don’t wait to get started working on it. Start doing what you can to meet that deadline right now, no matter how little that effort may be. Any effort you make to start meeting your deadline will get you on the path toward meeting it, and it is a positive step in the right direction. The time you have available to meet your deadline will allow you the extra time you need in case there are any detours you run into along the way. The best part about starting work on your deadlines early? You just might get your work done early, and have some extra time to make any changes or corrections before your own Deadline Day.