Why We Miss Deadlines and How to Stop
We are obsessed with scheduling work execution. But when we need to pull ourselves together and make our plans a reality, we push tasks further and further, until the last minute – or worse, after a set deadline.
This post originally appeared on the Zapier blog .
This happens to all of us. But some of us struggle with deadlines more than others. However, this is not entirely our fault: there is a hidden bias in our brains that leads us into this trap.
Why we miss deadlines
The Sydney Opera House was due to be completed in 1963 for $ 7 million. I bet you know where this will lead: the stripped-down version was opened 10 years later, in 1973, with a final price tag of $ 102 million .
Developers have fallen prey to scheduling error – our built-in tendency to underestimate the time it takes to complete a task. This forces us to associate deadlines with external factors rather than our inability to plan effectively.
When we initially plan our workload, the deadline is usually far enough away to be somewhat abstract, and scheduling error affects our thinking. As the deadline approaches, it becomes more realistic and we actually start to get work done.
In part, we get misguided time and time again when planning because we don’t plan for hiccups . When we estimate the time it will take to complete a task or project, we present the best scenario for each step involved. Inevitably, we hit a snag, and the work swells to an enormous size, making it more difficult for us to meet our deadlines.
Why we still need deadlines
While the stress of working on a deadline can be frustrating, Science of Us’s Melissa Dahl notes that deadlines “are often the only reason people ever do something.”
Historically, the word “deadline” has had a more literal meaning. The “extreme line” was originally a line around the prison, “through which no prisoner can pass, day or night, under the threat of being shot.”
Now that the deadlines are related to the workplace, we have become more lenient in terms of penalties. But the concept remains the same: deadlines can mean life or death for your productivity, project, or job.
Parkinson’s Law is a proverb that says, “Work expands to fill the time available to complete it.” Or, in other words, the task will take as long as you allow it. This is why we sometimes wonder how much we can get done in short periods of time. This is also the reason why we often try to complete something at the last minute, despite the fact that the lead time is several days or weeks.
If you take Parkinson’s Law into account, you will see that the absence of deadlines is unlikely to mean that anything will be done. When you have infinite time to complete a task, you will need infinite time to complete it.
How to overcome deadline bias
So how do we get past the planning error and make deadlines work for us? It’s incredibly hard to beat built-in cognitive bias, but understanding how deadlines change our behavior can help us become more productive despite the disadvantages.
1. Start your week ahead
When you plan your workload a week or a month in advance, or even one day, load it ahead of time to meet deadlines faster. Plan to work on the toughest, most important, and urgent tasks first (in terms of deadlines), leaving later periods open. Inevitably, your work will take longer than you expected, and other responsibilities will appear that lead you astray.
The lighter workload at the end of the week or month gives you the flexibility to stretch your work as you face obstacles along the way, without facing the new challenges you were planning to tackle.
2. Give yourself a buffer
Here’s a trick I learned from Zapier marketer Matthew Guaya: Set deadlines a couple of days before the “real” date. I’ve done this myself before, and it made me rely on the date I specified in the task manager, although I knew it was a bit earlier because I didn’t have a record of the actual due date. … I didn’t have a rule on how many buffer days to give me, so I never knew how much later the actual deadline would be, and so I couldn’t afford to miss the deadlines I set myself.
If you don’t know how to stick to your own deadlines, this can be a tricky way to fool yourself in a situation that has no alternative.
3. Meet public deadlines
“I solemnly vow to finish this article by 5:00 pm”
If you make this promise in your mind, no one will know when you fail to fulfill it. Say it out loud, however, and responsibility comes into play.
Publicly stating your goals brings pride to the equation, so you need to weigh your desire for procrastination against your willingness to publicly fail.
When Evelyn Waugh set out to write Return to Brideshead, he reportedly set himself the goal of completing it in three months. He communicated his goal, saying: “I have drawn up a plan for a new novel, which will take about three months to write.”
Wo did not quite meet the deadline – he asked for an extension several times – but wrote quickly, trying to meet; he knew other people expected him to finish the book on time.
4. Receive automatic reminders of upcoming due dates.
If any of the above doesn’t help you meet your deadline, then resort to setting up automatic reminders with something like Zapier , an app automation tool.
To implement this tactic, use Google Calendar to record your deadline as an upcoming event, then use Zapier to receive an SMS alert, Slack message, email, or whatever communication you prefer that reminds you when you are at 24, 12 or 8 o’clock. from the deadline. Advance time and message can also be customized. Make it motivational, include a quote or, like Waugh, make a public reminder.
Deadlines must be missed. But with a deeper understanding of why we set deadlines and how we interact with them, we can make them work in our favor. As you go to your desk with more confidence in your ability to meet deadlines, don’t forget Hofstadter’s Law : “It always takes longer than you expect, even if you consider Hofstadter’s Law.”