Chasing deadlines / Chasing dreams
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| August 2010: Long lazy afternoons of tea and reading at the cottage, with my parents. No deadlines here! |
DEADLINES: Love them or hate them, I have learned that, for me, they can make the difference between getting something done and getting nothing done. These days, I am learning the joy of meandering through a day without a deadline in sight, simply enjoying the time and endless possibilities of how to use it. Nice. But last Saturday was not one of them. Here’s how that day went.
Friday/10:59pm — I was already asleep when this deadline came and went. Earlier in the week, I had learned that the ghost story I had written in November for the NYC Midnight Madness micro fiction challenge had earned me enough points from the judges to get through to round two. This late-evening deadline was for me to receive my prompts for that second-round writing assignment. I was too tired to wait up, but logged on in the middle of the night during one of my usual waking moments. I didn’t engage, simply noted the details and returned to sleep. During my next wakeful moment, an opening line came to me, which I jotted down and promptly fell back asleep.
Saturday/6am — I got up for good, made tea and started pounding out a possible story. Given that I had a workshop to teach that afternoon, I had no time to waste and only until 10:59pm to upload my completed 250-word piece of micro fiction. Sheesh, talk about pressure to produce! And I did.
Saturday/12:15pm — I was heading out the door for the afternoon workshop, and I had a fourth draft completed, saved and ready for final tweaking and then uploading later that evening. I was happy with the draft and pleased with how I had produced it. The tight deadline and my full day conspired to strip me of any ability (desire?) to procrastinate, and I simply got stuck into the task. And kept going. No margin for lateness with this assignment. I either met it or lost out on the chance to make it into round three.
Saturday/7:15pm — Read the micro story one last time and uploaded for submission. Done!
Saturday/9pm — In bed, fast asleep. Meeting a deadline (or two) can be tiring!
Maybe the productive way to think about a hard and firm deadline is to see it as a gate-way into something that I want, really want. Then, what motivates me is not the deadline but the happy feeling of doing what I need to do in order to, ultimately, have that thing I really want (whatever it may be).
CAVEAT: Of course, not every deadline is hard and firm. I’ve negotiated more time for myself in many circumstances, even professional ones with a paying client. Not often, but with good enough reasons, it’s a reasonable thing to do. And, certainly, self-imposed or arbitrary ones are moveable — and should be moved if the desired result is not and cannot be achieved by whatever apparently, it turns out, unrealistic deadline was set by the person in charge. (In my college teaching days, I hardly ever turned down a student’s request for an extension on an assignment; with them, I wanted their work in hand not their stress on my conscience.)
When a deadline stymies productivity, then something has to give and, often, it is the deadline itself. However, when a deadline is non-negotiable, treating it as inspiring and enabling can help me make that finish line with both product and satisfaction in hand. I wonder if I am I alone in this approach to deadlines...
If I never have another deadline, that will be soon enough!
ReplyDeleteNow, when do you hear if you’ve advanced to round three?
Bonne chance
I think the judging cycle takes a couple of months, so I'll dig for some patience to get me through to, say, mid-March. I'll report back here, for sure.
DeleteThere's so much to be said about deadlines! Sometimes they are agony, but I tend to work better when they are in place. I am especially good at deadlines set by others, since I have a strong desire to not disappoint. I am generally not as good with deadlines I set for my own work, and I have to make the process a bit more complex with checklists and daily goals to replace the emotional reward that I would get from pleasing someone else.
ReplyDeleteI want my own writing to be a priority, but I will nevertheless prioritize editing for a client, and that is often necessary. But my clients tend to be novelists who are not on a deadline themselves, so they will often tell me "there's no rush". That's when I have to privately set my own deadline for their work, based upon my need to make a living. If I want to earn a certain amount each month from editing, and also have time for a larger client base, I must work steadily and at a good pace.
The best thing about a deadline is that it helps solidify any vague boundaries between work and recreational time. It's really nice to consciously let go of the deadlines when it's time to relax, as shown in your beautiful family photograph above!
What a good contemplation of the meaning and impact of deadlines in your writing life, Pamela. You are so right about that lovely moment of crossing over from 'meeting it' to 'met!' Relief, release, relax.
DeleteDeadlines are the only reason I ever get anything done! Self-imposed deadlines are due to commissioned pieces that will receive payment when finished so these deadlines can depend on how much I need the money. lol
ReplyDeleteAh yes, deadlines. Like you, I can be in the middle of 'love them or hate them', all of which depends on my mood...so I wish.
ReplyDelete