Career Tip: Deadlines can make you more productive
Created: 12/28/2022, 7:00 p.m
By: Carina Blumenroth
The deadline for the project is approaching, you still have a lot to do – the deadline can motivate you on the one hand, but it can also overwhelm you on the other.
You probably know fixed deadlines when a service has to be rendered or finished from your school days, training or studies.
Sometimes it could happen that you waited for the last minute and then had to take care of the task in a hurry.
You may be familiar with that much-used, hackneyed phrase, "I have a motivation problem until I have a time problem." Some people need that pressure to focus and get work done.
So deadlines can help people work productively, but the opposite can also be true – deadlines can also be overwhelming.
Career tip: Deadlines have advantages and can avoid frustration
Enter deadlines in the calendar, set several sub-goals for larger projects by when you have to complete smaller tasks.
© Andrey Popov/Imago
The closer you are to a goal, the harder you work.
This can apply to sporting challenges or a project at work.
Psychologists also call this the goal gradient effect – a deadline is more motivating the closer it gets.
If you imagine the project as a timeline, then at first you know that there is still a lot of time.
There comes a point where you panic because the deadline is looming, and then there comes a point where you can do a lot of work quickly.
So deadlines can help you manage time properly and prioritize tasks.
You also know directly when the acute phase of stress is over, so the end of the task is defined.
Deadlines can also affect the body
When you're working under time pressure, you may notice reactions in your body.
The sympathetic nervous system is activated, this can put the body in increased readiness to perform, the result is that energy reserves are used up.
In this context, it may be the case that your heart beats faster, your breathing quickens and your blood pressure rises.
You get into a kind of flow and only concentrate on one task.
It may be that the work feels less strenuous and easier for you, as
Quarks
reports.
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Do deadlines have disadvantages at work?
A deadline is too tight and you can't meet your deadline?
On the one hand this is frustrating, on the other hand this fact can create pressure and make you feel that you are not up to a task.
Dealing with deadlines is also individual, what can be a motivational boost for some can be demotivating for others.
Working continuously and only under time pressure is also not advisable, work psychologists warn, as
Quarks
informs, that this can damage the body.
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How to deal with deadlines?
If you work with deadlines, you should definitely keep an eye on all your tasks and projects and not just work your way from deadline to deadline.
The danger here can be that you overlook larger tasks that are not yet scheduled.
It is important that you prioritize your tasks - regardless of deadlines.
It can also make sense for you to set intermediate goals for projects and also set deadlines for them,
Karrierebibel.de
informs you .
Question the feasibility of projects and protect yourself and your team from projects that are not feasible.