Five Tips for Working on a Deadline
If you want to be a writer in any field, deadlines are something you are going to have to get used to. Even as a novelist, there will probably be times when you need to get things done by a certain date. The same goes especially for other writing-related occupations.
I’m currently working against a deadline and have had occasional moments of wanting to panic about the amount of work. However, there are a few things I learned back in school that help me stay focused and organized to this day:
*Break down the work into sections. This can help you from getting overwhelmed with everything you need to do.
*Set a minimum amount of daily work. If you know that you need to get so much done between now and two weeks from now, figure out how much you need to get done on a daily basis to make the deadline on time.
*Give yourself one (or two, or three…) day less for the above tip. If you give yourself one day less to work on the work part of things, that means you have an extra day to check things over or to finish up if there is an emergency and you don’t make your daily minimum.
*Make it clear to friends/family that you have to work. Letting people know you have a big project to do and that you’ll be working on it for the next x number of days/weeks prevents distractions, hurt feelings, and even gives you a reason to celebrate when the work is done.
*Most importantly, don’t be afraid to ask for help. There is nothing worse than being about to miss a deadline and someone asking you, “Why didn’t you just ask me for help?” Know what you can and can’t handle, and be honest with yourself.
Now I’m off to make the most of my own advice and finish up my goals for the day.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:16 am
[...] as I want to do a good job but also want to get everything done on time. I’ve been using the tips and tricks I learned in school to keep from going into panic overdrive, but that doesn’t make me wonder what I was thinking at [...]