Right from our childhood we have seen that deadlines do wonders in motivating us and pushing us to complete tasks. A huge red circle around a date can give you that required push to get things going. But, is this the right approach?
Meeting goals by focusing on deadlines is a common approach and it works wonders for many businesses but that is not how you should actually proceed, experts say. They throw light on the fact that in case you fail to reach the goal by the deadline you will feel like a complete failure despite the efforts you put in. Too much focus on the deadline actually puts more pressure on you. It is not uncommon for people to simply give up on a particular task because they didn’t finish it in time. Does that mean you let go off deadlines totally? No.
Experts by no means suggest that deadlines are not important. Unless you have an end point in mind you will wander aimlessly. You will not have direction and that will again cause failure. What must you do then? You must simply shift your focus. Instead of focusing on the deadline, you should focus on what you are doing and how you are doing it. Fix a schedule instead of putting up a deadline. Stick to the schedule instead of hastening things to reach the deadline.
Choose the goal that you want to accomplish and draw a schedule to follow. This will give you consistency and even evenness. You will be able to reach your goal without added pressure. Also, you won’t feel like a disappointment or failure. Not many realize that this can make a huge difference unless they actually implement it. The shift of focus from deadline to process is not theoretically a big one but practically, it makes a lot of difference.
Peace of mind, resting adequately, and working according to the schedule is much better an option than having that sword hanging over your neck all the time. Deadlines motivate, no doubt, but they also pressurize. Focus on the process eliminates the pressure.
Entrepreneurial Learning
Focus on deadlines can tax you and cause you to feel disappointed in case you don’t meet them successfully. That is the reason why it is advised that you simply shift your focus on the schedule so that you are consistent and you meet your goals without added pressure.