31 Jul Deadlines

I consider myself a planner. But lately it’s become increasingly clear to me that I’m a “planning procrastinator.” It’s almost like I CAN’T perform unless I HAVE to. And nothing is more motivating than a deadline.

Years ago, I read a book called “The Power of Focus” that a friend recommended. It’s all about how you are in charge of your life and your time and every decision you make affects where you end up and what you accomplish (or not).

In short: your life is literally what you make of it.

The book is a bit of a guide. And a couple of its best takeaways are:
1) You should SCHEDULE your time so you will use it appropriately.
2) You should spend a few minutes at the end of every day planning what you will do (God willing) tomorrow.

I do that. I spend five minutes at each day’s end jotting down my Go Do’s for the next. Then, I prioritize. And that’s where my trouble begins.

Prioritization leads me directly to procrastination. I can’t do THAT yet, I say to myself, THIS is much more important because it’s due FIRST. Deadlines. They make me do the work.

In all my years in advertising, I don’t think I’ve ever missed a deadline.

Like the dentist whose kids have bad teeth, however, I neglect doing the marketing for my own company in order to do the marketing for our clients. So when it comes to writing this blog for our agency newsletter… only the deadline makes it happen.