How to stay on top of deadlines at work

"I am one of those people who thrive on deadlines. Nothing brings on inspiration more readily than desperation." - Harry Shearer

Losing track

Have you ever…

• Lost track of deadline dates?
• Caused yourself and others stress by nearly missing a deadline?
• Missed out on an opportunity by missing a deadline?

Lack of planning and organisation is a major factor in stress – both at work and in life. There are so many demands on your time which may come from:

• managers
• colleagues
• customers and clients
• family
• friends
• the day-to-day administration of life.

Phone calls, emails, instant messages, notifications and texts all urge you to reply right away. No wonder it can be hard to keep track of multiple deadlines, whether they're for reports, meeting agendas, job applications, bills, membership renewals or countless other commitments.

Chaos and confusion

So what could cause you to miss a deadline?

It's helpful to be aware of what we cause ourselves and how much is caused by external factors. What do you recognise?

• not having a good system of organisation
• having too many papers on your desk
• not filing papers away when you're not working on them
• finding a task overwhelming, parking it and then forgetting about it
• not knowing where to start and therefore starting too late
• not having a year planner or other recording system for deadlines
• putting it off, again and again, until it's too late
• other people's poor time management
• other people asking you to complete tasks at the last minute.

How to Stay on Top of Deadlines

Here are my top tips:

1. Be mindful of Parkinson's Law, a management principle which suggests that work tends to expand to fill the time available for its completion. This doesn't necessarily mean you're working on the task all the time; rather, it means you leave it until you're close to the deadline. If you have a day to complete a task, you'll probably finish it by the end of the day. If you have a week, you'll likely finish it by then. Give yourself a month, and the same task often takes a month.
2. Use a year planner, wall planner or digital calendar and add the deadline for each goal.
3. Choose your own deadline dates before the ones set for you and add these to your planner as well. How far in advance will depend on the size of the task. If you're writing a three-page report, you might finish three days early, leaving enough time to proofread, check details with others if necessary and fine-tune it with a fresh mind. If you're writing a book, your personal deadline might be a month before publication.
4. Work backwards from each deadline and block out time in your planner to complete the tasks needed to achieve your goal.
5. Keep your planner somewhere you'll see it every day, whether that's on a wall or in a digital calendar you check regularly.
6. Use colour coding with a different colour for each deadline, preparation date and task related to that goal. Most paper planners and digital calendars make this easy to do.
7. Review the plan for each goal. Have you allowed enough time to complete the tasks needed to achieve it? If not, build in more time now.
8. Leave enough time for the unexpected, such as waiting for information from others, technological hiccups, changes in workload or even being unwell.
9. Transfer regular deadlines from one year to the next so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. This might include car servicing and MOTs, dental appointments, insurance renewals, tax returns, reporting deadlines, funding applications and more.
10. With one glance at your planner, you can see all the pieces of the puzzle and how they fit together. You know exactly where you are. You can also decide what is feasible and what isn't, what to keep and what may be wise to change.

Having a visual planning system, whether that's a wall planner or an electronic version, puts you in control of your work and your life. It helps you make clearer decisions and reduces the stress of trying to hold everything in your head. By keeping your deadlines and priorities visible, you're far more likely to stay organised and achieve your goals.