How to Meet Deadlines?
Time is a broad concept. Especially when you’re a university student. Your days are a crazy mixture of morning classes, lunch breaks, evening meetings and late night parties. One blink and you’re out of time, sipping on your fourth coffee, hoping that the essay due tomorrow will write itself. There is a reason why the word deadline starts with dead. That’s how you’ll feel if you mismanage your time. Here are 5 simple rhymes that will help you survive the deadline pressure. I invented them while fighting my own battle with the common enemy, aka the deadline.
1. Don’t miss the chance to start in advance!
Even though Netflix and chill may sound better, try starting your assignment as early as possible. Not waiting until the last moment will get you off to a flying start. It will save you time and energy. At the night of the due date you will be sleeping peacefully and enjoying your life. Meanwhile, all your peers will be pressured to choose the last resort, also known as the all-nighter. They will restrain from sleep in order to do what you already did in advance.
2. Submitting is impossible without committing.
Dealing with a deadline is the same as being in a serious relationship. You have to show your commitment constantly, not only on Valentine’s Day. You text your partner first thing in the morning, you take him/her out to dinner, you spend the weekends together. Consider your deadline as a needy partner. Spend the Monday brainstorming. On Tuesday start with the real action. Save your weekend for re-thinking and finalizing. Nourish your deadline every single day and it won’t break your heart.
3. No distraction for better action!
The chances that you’ll get distracted while working on your deadline are higher than you expect. Bear in mind that your phone will ring at least three times, a new episode of your favorite show will be released and the wildest party of the semester will be happening at the same time. Distractions are everywhere. So, learn to say NO. Send yourself into exile. Or, in other words, go to the library, mute your phone and chose to be antisocial for the sake of your deadline.
4. Don’t dare to ask, just multitask!
The sad truth is that the average university student faces more than one deadline at a time. While you’re working on your research paper, you will probably have to prepare a PowerPoint presentation and study for an upcoming quiz. University is all about studying, meeting deadlines and having fun in between. The best way to manage the overloading business is by multitasking. Once you get used to it, you will start enjoying it more.
5. Complete for a treat!
Whether it’s a vanilla ice cream with extra fudge, a pair of new jeans or just 8 hours of deep sleep, don’t forget to set a reward for your hard work. There is nothing more motivating than foreseeing the life after the deadline. Treating yourself at the end of the process is as important as starting the project and working diligently on it. It’s the same as stretching after an intense full body workout. Would you dare to miss the most enjoyable part?
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Yoana Blagova studies journalism and political science at the American University in Bulgaria. She has never missed a deadline.
