There is nothing like a deadline to cause us to get things done. Have you ever been getting ready to go out of town and knocking out a huge to-do-list before you leave town?
Sales people experience this when trying to hit quarterly numbers. Deadlines cause us to be more efficient and get more done in a short amount of time. Most people spend a lot of time thinking about doing their taxes, but the deadline is what moves them to action.
Deadlines work. If our goal is to be a high performer, we need to pay attention to who’s deadlines we are always focused on hitting. If we aren’t careful, we can put all our focus on the deadlines others are setting for us. We get hit from a million different directions telling us what others want from us. Deadlines that others set for us.
We can’t always ignore these deadlines, but we must pay attention. High performers spend more time focused on the deadlines they set for themselves. They understand what has a bigger impact long term. High performers are always pushing towards their own self imposed deadlines. Under performers rarely even set their own deadlines. They respond to the deadlines given to them by others.
Who is setting your deadlines?
Rich Florence 