There’s nothing like the positive pressure of a real deadline growing ever closer to focus your attention and efforts. Especially when the deadline has a hardstop that’s non-negotiable. What’s done is done when the timer goes.
I hope this post is helpful for anyone who has a little inner perfectionist, or for those who ever reflect on a week and question if they got enough done.
The theme of this week’s post is so front of mind for me as last Sunday I set an ambitious week of outcomes with the aim of disconnecting come this Saturday. I really mean disconnecting too. My wife and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary by returning to the same paradise spot we went to on our honeymoon, and I will be challenging myself to disconnect from the rest of the world for a week.
Many of you may have heard Parkinson’s Law which states that, “WORK expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”.
This is exactly why deadlines can bring out the productivity ninja within – we have to push hard whilst simultaneously adjusting our satisfactory completion points for tasks.
When in this state, you can find yourself drawing on extra reserves to push things over the line.
You find you can be a little more decisive when it comes to completing something (i.e. saying that’s good enough).
It calls for an attitude of what gets done gets done. Yes we can strive for excellence, but don’t get caught up trying to be perfect, accept imperfection and aim for done. I’ll admit that I envy those for whom this comes easy. I have to fight an inner desire that wants to go for perfection.
To list a few of the main objectives completed this week, we (Chris and I) have:
- Set up a new SA unit from scratch
- Accommodated some new contractors
- Got our SA booking website to live testing stage
- Engaged in strategic conversations with JV partners
- Refined some systems with cleaners and linen providers
- Progressed a host of admin related to various SPVs
The deadline effect has really kicked in this week and a fair few extra hours have been clocked. However, as one of my coaches reminds me, if you know you have a special occasion coming up where you will be switching off and recharging then it’s OK to push hard so that come Saturday when I leave, I can give myself permission to feel disconnected.
Just think how much we’d get done if we went on holiday every month huh?
As a double bonus, the high leverage thing about down time is that we can use it to gain an unfair advantage. If I seed my mind with the thought and question of long term goals, then go have fun, great ideas will come and I just need to note them down then get back to the fun.