I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. – Douglas Adams
Set a deadline… and I’m bound to stress about it. I’m already two days behind in this week’s mini-nano and stress is staring me right in the eyes. So how do I deal with that? Well, let me tell you… (you didn’t think I was going to just let you guess, did you?)
Even though the word is ominous (I mean, c’mon… DEADline?), it may not really be the deadline you expect. We’ve set up a small writing goal of about 10k words in a week… not too bad, and pretty close to Nano’s goal. But, I also realize that this is an arbitrary goal so that we can trade stories and do a little exchange editing… so it’s not really poured in concrete.
Think about the time you really do have. I have a short day at work today… that gives me at least four solid hours of extra time I didn’t have before.Am I going to get caught up today? Probably not… but I can make a damn good dent.
It’s all in the way you look at it, too… some people see deadlines as a bus that’s going to run them over. I see it as more like a target. Something I’m shooting for.
The last thing is… what are the consequences? What happens if I don’t finish? I don’t get to trade with someone? I get a little more time to finish? I’m not really sure… but I do know that at the worst, I just won’t be able to participate in a free contest. But I’ll still be able to help those that did finish… I’ll be able to root them on and hope one of them wins the contest.
So, grab your collar, give yourself a good shake… and get a grip. It’s probably not so bad. Now, get to writing… the world needs your words… and don’t let that deadline clip you as it goes by… they like to fly low.
Leave a Reply