Under Pressure! Managing Deadlines and Work When You're Mostly a Creative Slacker

I have never worked well under pressure.

That manifests in a number of ways, most of which served as a distinct hindrance during the years I was working in corporate America.

The Heart of a Slacker

Most of my problems are self-made, of course. Somehow, it seems I must have been standing in the back of the room when the Gods handed out "work ethic." And you certainly could never describe me as a "go getter."

For one, if you tell me something is due on the 25th-- and today is the 10th-- it's a good bet I won't even start looking at it till around the 20th.

In a sense, knowing that a deadline is "a ways off" is generally a rationalization for me to sit down and pretty much do nothing.

Such is the life of a creative slacker... I do my best work while "falling off a cliff," right before something is due... but as soon as I am done with the falling bit, I will probably stop working again.

So How Do You Manage That in Our Ambitious World?

I suppose it's a bit of a strange way to be, in this world where everything seems to revolve around ambition, accomplishment and success. 

In looking back through the years, my desire in life... pretty much since I was little... has been to sit still and do as little as possible.

It used to concern my mom-- who was as wound up as a Hummingbird on crack and a social butterfly to boot-- I was much too slow and quiet for her liking. And yet? She never really managed to goad me into doing things, in spite of enrolling me in 45 different activities and lessons.

In school, I was a solid B+/A- student... good enough to keep me out of trouble, not so good anyone really noticed me. Knowing what I know... had I been one of those "driven" types, I would probably have been a straight A student.

I was always better at living  as a human BE-ing than a human DO-ing... and-- as an adult-- I have also minimized any tendencies to become a human HAVE-ing.

Dealing with Reality

Of course, the reality is that I do live in a world of deadlines and work that must be done by certain times. One of the skills that helps me navigate it is being exceptionally good at estimating exactly how long something will take me to complete. 

I also don't agree to anyone else's interpretation of "how long" something will take to complete. It may sound arrogant, but odds are they are wrong. Not because they are stupid, but because we live in a world where people have been trained to exaggerate their abilities in order to "get the prize." I have no room for those who would say "Oh yeah, we can get that done by lunch!" when it's perfectly obvious it can't be done before evening.

Be impeccably organized. It often frustrates people I work with that I will spend more time putting all the "components" of a project in perfect order than actually working. Thing is? When I do work, I can do it five times faster than you.

Avoid perfectionism. This one is hard for me, as I tend to be perfectionistic... but I tend to reserve that for myself. In general, the world is sloppy, so giving someone "the 98% solution" where 90% is considered "excellent" is more than enough!

Know your limitations... and don't say "yes" to stuff you know you'll have to "learn on the fly." The time to expand your skill set is not while working under a deadline.

In General, Just AVOID Deadlines!

One of the reasons Steemit works so well for me as a writing venue is that there really are no deadlines here. I don't have an editor breathing down my neck, asking for articles... or revisions... or re-writes.

The interesting side effect of that is that I am actually producing far more "magazine quality" articles/posts than I have for pretty much any other venue I have been part of, since maybe 2005!

The bottom line here is simply "Know yourself!" and that includes knowing that you don't work well with deadlines, and you don't like others telling you what to do, and accepting that you might tend towards being both lazy and a bit of a self-important twat. I also know that I don't tend to "play well with others" because I have a rather ruthless let's-get-this-DONE approach once I finally get in motion with something. I'm not there to "socialize," I'm there to get things finished so I can go back to doing nothing!

It's really OK to "judge" yourself thusly, and a lot better than setting up false expectations and then having others pass that same judgment on you!

How about YOU? How are you with working to deadlines? Do you mind them well in advance? Or are you a "last minute frantic work" person? Are you an ambitious go-getter, when it comes to projects and work? Or are you more laid back and casual? Are you good at teamwork, or more of a solitary performer? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Posted at 20170820 18:58 PDT