D(r)eadlines!
ANGRY questions, angrier retorts; an irritated boss, scowling team - it is `that' time when sphygmomanometers are tested to their limits and stomach linings are painfully eroded with excessive acid secretions - deadlines!
An impending deadline unfailingly and impartially frays tempers and instigates nervous breakdowns, regardless of whether the victim is 5 or 45.Now, we include 5 year olds, because, there was a time when we were whining little fusspots, who preferred to meditate before - rather than gobble - a bowl-full of "healthy" porridge. Didn't momma then invariably threaten us with the annoying `I want to see the bowl empty within ten minutes... or else'? Ditto for that horrid assignment of epic proportions, that was ill timed to coincide with the nail- biting India-Pakistan cricket match.We certainly could not wriggle our way out of it then, nor could we look momma in the eye and tell her that we were actually planning to `delegate' most of the stuff to her!
Of course, it is true that in the workplace, there is much more at stake than just a well deserved whack or TV rights being revoked for two weeks in a row. Small wonder then, that a `deadline' is the uncrowned king amongst the most stressful factors in the workplace.
The clock is ticking...
There is no escaping the fact that work has this nasty habit of expanding to fill time. And even if it does not, we usually are not on top of things always.
Anything that can be potentially delayed - even if just by five minutes - will be delayed. It is probably the thrill of doing things in the last minute, or claiming that we perform better under pressure; or maybe we are just plain stupid and our solemn promises to prioritise should be rightly written in the wind. The long and short of it is, we drag our feet till the nth hour, until hell and the boss pay a cubicle-visit, and unleash their collective fury. Plenty of tension, tantrums and tears later, the work is finally, haphazardly completed. But, what if it isn't, it will simply sound the death-knell for an otherwise wonderful career.
Now, instead of consoling ourselves with a rather belated `if-only', let's try to tackle the demon a.k.a. deadlines.
Taming time
Time-management - prioritising and focussing on the urgent and important - is commonly touted as the panacea to deadline dilemmas. Cruel as it may sound, when a deadline looms large, Sudokus and water-cooler chats are an absolute no-no. Stephen Covey brilliantly encapsulates this in his winning `time matrix' and the `put first things first' dogma. (Read about it in detail in his `Seven habits of highly successful people')
Get on with it...
`How does a project get to be a year behind schedule? One day at a time', quipped Fred Brookes. Procrastination is pretty pointless. When you know something has to be done, isn't it better to start right away? Quality also takes a beating - but naturally - if you have to rush through three weeks worth of work in three surviving-on-caffeine-nights.
Delegate or better still, divide and conquer!
"Divide your sorrow and double your joys" was probably written keeping deadlines in mind. Then again, if you cannot share your work with your teammates, share it with yourself!
An easy-peasy solution to handle gargantuan tasks is to break it into several smaller portions and then tackle them. That way, it is less overwhelming and you will feel totally in-control.
Practise saying that powerful two-letter word - No!
Say it in front of the mirror; try it with different expressions, ranging from smiling to sneering, until you figure out what suits you best. Taking on more responsibilities than you can possibly handle, just to impress the boss, and then cutting a rather sorry figure will not exactly help your cause.
Do not always hope for a last-minute deadline extension.
Miracles do not always happen. Not to us anyway.
Now, if your boss were Douglas Adams - who is in love with the whooshing sound deadlines make as they fly by - then you can forget all of the above, as the whooshing sound alone is probably sufficient to divert him. But, if he isn't, then you better get your act straight...
APARNA KARTHIKEYAN
faqs@cnkonline.com
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