How to Ensure you Meet Deadlines
Most people have to deal with work deadlines at one point or another. Usually, they are perfectly workable; you will have been given plenty of notice and, by managing your time carefully, you will be able to deliver. However, there may be times in your career when you have a number of deadlines to meet within a very short space of time and you just don’t see how you are going to be able to meet them. Fortunately, there are some strategies that you can use to cope with work deadlines.
Know the deadline
It will be very rare that you are given a deadline that is only a few hours away. What causes problems is if you forget about the deadline until the last minute and are then forced to either miss it, or have to rush work that could have been of a much higher quality. Right from the start, get used to recording deadlines in such a way that you cannot forget about them. If you note things in a diary, but then don’t look at it regularly, find another way of reminding yourself. Most smartphones have alarms that can remind you to do things on a regular basis. If you’re less technically-minded, a wall planner by your desk with big red stars could work just as well.
Prepare and prioritise
Even with the best of intentions, there will be times when you can’t do very much towards a deadline until other people have completed their part of the project. However, there is bound to be a certain amount of preparation that you can do, even if it is just clearing your diary or warning the admin staff that there could be a lot of photocopying to do. If you feel that you have done all you can, you will be much more confident about what you have to do. Then make sure you prioritise tasks as they come in. Some will be much more important than others, so pay most attention to them.
Discuss time off in lieu
If it looks like you are going to be spending extra hours in the office, possibly working weekends too, then you may not be feeling terribly motivated. However, unless your employer has a firm rule against it, you may well be able to claim time off in lieu. Arrange a meeting with your manager as soon as you know that you are likely to have to work a lot of overtime and discuss the possibility. Once your deadlines have been cleared, you will hopefully have a stretch of time when you can take a few extra hours’ holiday. Knowing there’s a treat up ahead will help you to cope with the stress of “the now.”
Ask for help
Others may not be aware that you have a whole string of deadlines due at the same time; if they were, they may offer to help you. Once you are aware that you are going to struggle to get everything done, let your line manager know. Hopefully, he will be able to arrange for a couple of your colleagues to help you. After all, you are all working towards the same goal, the betterment of the company, so it is in his interest to make sure that you have enough manpower to complete your tasks. Don’t be afraid of admitting that you can’t cope. It is not a sign of failure to ask for help; it is more a sign of failure if you don’t ask and then can’t meet your deadlines.
Learn from past mistakes
As you grow in your career, you will learn a lot from past mistakes. Think about deadlines you have met, or struggled to meet, in the past and the strategies that did or did not work. As you go forward, try not to make the same mistakes again. For example, you may have found that you did a lot of work in advance, only to have to do it all again because everything changed. Learn to do what is least likely to change first and leave the more intangible elements until you really need to get on and complete them. Constantly reconsider your organisational skills too; there will always be ways that you can improve them.
Coping with work deadlines is not as hard as you may think when they are looming up ahead of you. Preparation, prioritising and asking for help when you need it are the key strategies to use.
