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| IWSG |
No, it's not hump day. No, it's not Prince Spaghetti day. And it's definitely not Sweet Polly Purebred.
It's the post that ya'll been waiting fer, that post that only pops up on the first Wednesday of the month so that all us insecure writers across the blog-o-sphere can share all of our individual experiences, the gud, the baaaaaad and the plug ugly.
Believe it or not, I had a real problem in coming up with a topic, simply because work has been kicking my buttocks from here to there, and from there to here.
Fortunately, one presented itself not less than 3 minutes prior to sitting down in front of this computer.
Deadlines.
As a writer, collectively we are used to working with ultra-tight deadlines so that we can have a shiny new product ready for the finicky people (i.e. editors, agents, beta readers) who we are beholden to. We may not like those kind deadlines, but its a necessary evil in our chosen line of work.
And then there are those deadlines that are self-inflicted.
You know the kind I'm talking about. Those arbitrary deadlines that we impose on ourselves to either motivate us (HA!) or destroy us (that's the ticket). In my particular case, those artificial deadlines that I've imposed on myself in the past few years have been for the most part, epic flame outs. The last solid deadline that I made for myself and managed to keep, was re-releasing my commercial debut. I wanted to get it back out last year, and I managed to do just that.
Prior to that, most of the deadlines I've inflicted on myself have been absorbed so much fluid as to make them utterly useless. But I still keep trying to bring some desperately needed order to my writing life by setting these deadlines, in the faint hope that I'll actually act upon them.
How 'bout you? How do you handle deadlines, self-inflicted or otherwise?
(c) 2015 by G.B. Miller. All Rights Reserved.
You hit one deadline. Means you can hit others.
ReplyDeleteI'm aware that I am a natural procrastinator, so I overcome that by getting things done really early. If I don't, then I go into panic mode.
I'm roughly in the same boat as you, in that I'm a natural procrastinator, especially at work. If a task has an open ended deadline, I'm more apt to do a quality job as opposed to slightly above bare minimum.
DeleteHa! I posted about this today, too. I try to be realistic. Ask yourself what you can really get done by that deadline. Everyone uses different methods to reach their goals. Word count, time slots...
ReplyDeleteMy deadlines are all my own doing and I stick to them. Except now I've recently revised my goals for this year so that I can concentrate more on quality rather than quantity on a new project I'm working on.
Gwen Gardner, IWSG Co-host and new follower!
I've used word counts before and I've made sure to set the bar extremely low (issues with hands has me doing a hybrid of typing/talking) so that they're easily attainable/exceedable.
DeleteThanks for stopping by and I'll be sure to check out your blog.
I don't mind work deadlines so long as they are reasonable. At home, I set deadlines for myself for important things (e.g., make an appointment for that colonoscopy I'm supposed to get) but am very lax about more unimportant things (e.g. I've been meaning to sort through my accumulated jewelry for, oh I don't know, about 20 years now. Hey, I'll do it eventually!)
ReplyDeleteI can deal with reasonable work deadlines, it's the unreasonable work deadlines that drives me batty from time to time.
DeleteI ignore them:-)
ReplyDeleteSometimes that is the best way of handling them. :D
DeleteIt just tool forever to get the comment box here- had to re-load.
ReplyDeleteI had planned what to get done these days off, but tossed my deal-lines away when I was so over-tired n too cold to walk to the post office for mail, I said nevermind!
My next main dead-line is get a tax form filed.
Yeah, I feel your pain/aggravation. My main deadline for Spring is definitely getting my taxes done, and I can't do that until I talk to a tax man about my son's 1099Q.
DeleteWhenever I have a deadline I tend to start wayyyyy early and hopefully get done well before the time.
ReplyDeleteThat's one good way of meeting a deadline. :D
DeleteSo, when is it going to be Prince Spaghetti Day? I want to get in on the celebrations.
ReplyDeleteIt can always be Prince Spaghetti day whenever you want. :D
DeleteI have to have deadlines, or I will procrastinate forever. Hence, I get stuff done for work well ahead of time, and nothing done on my own.
ReplyDeleteI procrastinate with certain deadlines, i.e. law firms looking for optional information that I simply don't have the time to answer.
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