Deadlines. A stress-inducing word that seems to be popping up everywhere this time of year, whether it be finishing assignments for school, completing tasks at work, or submitting to the RiPPLE anthology (this last deadline is one that everyone should be thinking about because it’s coming up quick!). A scary word that no one wants to think of. Or is it? Instead of agonizing over why deadlines are the worst thing in the world, let’s explore why deadlines might actually be the best when it comes to getting work done.
For me, the biggest benefit of having a deadline is that it forces me to accomplish something. The piece of writing that comes out at the end might not be a masterpiece (it definitely is nowhere near to being a masterpiece) but at least something exists. As someone prone to procrastination, I need the pressure of a deadline in order to write.
Now, this may seem counterintuitive. Won’t the pressure create writer’s block? There was one time this semester when I had to submit a piece of writing to my writers’ workshop group. It was the first submission of the semester, and I had volunteered to submit even though I didn’t have anything written. As a sat in a café, staring at the blinking cursor in my blank Word document, I began to wonder why I had volunteered. Surely it would have been nice to have more time. But looking back, I realize that having more time wouldn’t have made a difference. Because I was under pressure to write, I had to focus and go with the idea I had, even though I was unsure.
The next time I had to submit was a completely opposite experience. I had a piece written and was ready to turn it in weeks before the deadline. I was trying out not procrastinating on projects.
The time after that, I was back to being completely unsure of what to write. I had multiple ideas flowing through my mind, but none seemed right. The only reason I finally settled on one was because I had a deadline. And that is the point I want to make through these examples. No matter the situation I was in, a deadline was the constant motivation in finishing my work.
And that, perhaps, is the best feature of a deadline. As I’ve learned from my writers’ workshop, a piece of writing is never really done. There could always be more edits. A piece can be good, brilliant, spectacular even and still benefit from improvements (no matter how big or small).
What stops me from forever working on a piece is a deadline. Deadlines might seem hindering (though I’ve actually found that when writing, inspiration comes when it wants to, whether I’m feeling under pressure or completely calm) but at the end of the day, they are the only thing that can make me produce a piece of writing.
So, go forth creative types and harness the power of the deadline as a motivation instead of shying away, for after all, deadlines aren’t that scary.
By Amanda Zazueta