Do You Set Yourself Deadlines?

**Lee** · 04-15-2004, 02:39 PM

As in you have a new project that you are working on and it has to be done by a specific date?

Reason i ask is that im getting close to a deadline myself and as of right now its looking impossible to meet due to programmer and designer issues

Bearing in mind the work im waiting on was snt to both the programmer and designer well over a month ago its annoying to have to wait on them to get stuff finished up.

So i guess im asking, if you do set deadlines how do you make sure that they are met?

Regards,

Lee

RainGurl · 04-15-2004, 03:00 PM

Coming from a journalism background as a daily newspaper reporter, I live by deadlines. They are trickier when you are dealing with outside sources, but you have to stick to them. Many times employees/contractors just need a little extra incentives to put the effort into meeting deadlines....or you can call it bribery. The last big project I worked on wasn't going to get done by the deadline. It was "impossible." Then we told them we'd take the whole staff to Internext if they got it done....and it was done.

When I had a large sales staff, normal hours were 9-6. Anyone who came in at 7 a.m. got free breakfast and anyone still there at 8 p.m. got free dinner, catered. It worked very well.

**basschick** · 04-15-2004, 04:20 PM

i keep deadlines by being realistic about how long a job will take when i first make the deadline.

i figure out honestly how long each part of the job will take, how many hours i can devote to the total job each day, and then i add 15% onto the time for things going wrong.

most people i know just throw a random amount of time on their deadlines, and feel bad when they either can't meet them or have to push themselves insanely. when i've asked them, they say they came up with their deadline "because it seemed like a reasonable amount of time". obviously it wasn't, or they wouldn't be struggling.

if you are a motivated self-starter, do you need a deadline? i always work a lot, but for some projects, i DO put a deadline on it. i'm not even sure why i do that, as i never stop working on something till it's finished.

Bell · 04-16-2004, 12:16 AM

on projects that do have an end to them - I put self-imposed
deadlines for myself on paper (for myself) and review my daily
work sheet each morning and each evening for that day and the
next 3... I reveiw the past weeks worth and bring forward
things that are ongoing and space them out throughout the
upcoming week... I leave space for my comments... and I keep
those as a sort of journal diary of the work accomplished, yet
to do... and as a life diary... I don't have time to keep a
private offline paper journal other than this business related
one... so the section I leave for comments is a nice bonus
for myself - - - when I reveiw...

I'm often pleasantly surprised at the new ideas I come up with
just be reviewing my own work journal...

I like to have tablets and pens throughout the house for jotting
down a quick thought or idea - - - you never know when a good
idea will come to you ... and in my past experience my BEST
ideas come to me when I am NOT at the monitor...
(generally when I am in a 2 hour bubble bath in the dark)

back to the thread topic - deadlines - yes...
I feel they keep me "at-it" ...

I like the feeling of completeing something that has
a deadline... I like the feeling of getting it done early...
it gives me a burst of energy to tackle the next project when
I am able to finish a project early...

I don't like the stomach churning feeling (physically)
when deadline is approaching and a project is yet to
be 100% completed... but I do work well under pressure...
and often find better ways of doing things when time
is of the esscense.... I don't know why that is... it
just is... but I know stomach acid isn't a good thing...
so I prefer to complete projects early...

I am realistic more so now (the past 2 years) in not
putting more on my agenda than is humanly possible
to complete effectively... I'd much rather complete
a small handful of well done projects each month
than a plethora of half assed (could-have-done-better)
projects...

~Bell

**Bec** · 04-16-2004, 12:27 AM

I do prioritize projects - but sometimes life just likes to kick those "deadlines" in the head ... like catching a cold and an ear infection that has you so dizzy you aren't sure where your chair is much less have a creative thought to call your own. It took a LOOONG time for me to allow myself a margin for error - and to not stress over things like I used to.

Yes, deadlines are important, and time needs to be reasonable for the project ... with a built in buffer for the unexpected. You need to trust that you have allowed enough time for a satisfactory date for all parties, and also trust that they have the balls to say "hey -- get real on this time frame", or admit that they have other stuff that has to hit the table first before tackling your job. If in house employees, obviously this changes ... but when outsourcing, it's a real situation that has to be taken into account.

**Gary-Alan** · 04-16-2004, 12:59 AM

With so much going on we have no choice but have project plans with established deadlines. And of course, we need to establish accountability.

Actually there was a time, when I first started online that I threw the idea of deadlines out the door. It was a time in my life that I was in totally rebellion of the structure of my Wall Street days. Of course, that did not last long. Even though it was a time when one free site made a huge amount of money, I knew to succeed I needed to balance my time.

I think we meet our deadlines pretty well. Except when it comes to out sourcing some work that we just cannot handle ourselves. Not that I don’t account for it in the planning stages, but all I need is one person outside of the company to disappear and then my timeline can be skewed. And that’s exactly what we’re experiencing now and it’s frustrating as all get out!

When I was on Wall Street we had unreal deadlines. Actually one department I ran had daily deadlines that absolutely had to be met. And on special days, when we would process pension and annuity payments in mass totals along with the day’s regular work load, everyone had to stay until everything was done which could be midnight or later. We all understood the deadlines, but it was great to be able to give people extras for giving their best. I particularly enjoyed Game Boy Friday… Everyone was done early and it was going to be a slow afternoon, I went out at lunchtime bought everyone a game boy and some games and handed them out when I got back. The assignment for the remainder of the day was to make high score – either in the office or at home. I loved doing things like that.

Today, with a lot of what we do not in house (yet), I find that the only motivator is more work. LOL We have one programmer we do work with that I would give more and more to just because he’s always on time or done before.

Overall I strongly believe it’s important to make and keep deadlines. Especially when we have to move so quickly to keep up, not only, with the competition and technology but ourselves.

My best,
GA

**Gary-Alan** · 04-16-2004, 01:08 AM

Originally posted by LdyLnWolf1
"hey -- get real on this time frame"

I read that and giggled, Bec. It's actually one of the reason I got my first promotion on WS.

I was in on my first project meeting and the "big boss" was there. Everyone was throwing out timelines, logistics, accountability and all that. When he turned to me and asked if the task and deadlines pertaining to my portion (which were assigned I had no clue about them until that moment) were realistic I said, "My staff and I are good. I'll go as far as saying we're great. But these timelines are unrealistic. We're humans not machines."

Two weeks later I was running the department

Sorry for the flashback - I'm feeling nostalgic at the moment.

My best,
GA

Bell · 04-16-2004, 03:57 PM

Originally posted by Gary-Alan
I read that and giggled, Bec. It's actually one of the reason I got my first promotion on WS.

I was in on my first project meeting and the "big boss" was there. Everyone was throwing out timelines, logistics, accountability and all that. When he turned to me and asked if the task and deadlines pertaining to my portion (which were assigned I had no clue about them until that moment) were realistic I said, "My staff and I are good. I'll go as far as saying we're great. But these timelines are unrealistic. We're humans not machines."

Two weeks later I was running the department Sorry for the flashback - I'm feeling nostalgic at the moment.

My best,
GA

hi there...

what does WS (in your post) stand for ??

Bell