I Love Being a Deadline Fighter!
And why you should consider it too!
Think about a time that you need to submit your work or assignment on the same day when you have done zero to anything about it.
What would you do?
Did you give up taking the penalty of late submission?
Or become a deadline fighter instead? #TeamNoSleep
Deadline fighter. Yep, I know most of us did that, including me. It is probably one of the riskiest things that I had done in my life. Doing it is probably way scarier than riding a roller coaster.
I know most teachers, lecturers, or even your boss will advise you to not rush and don’t leave it until the last minute. Sometimes, working on the edge of the deadline can result better than if you spend more time.
Really? How come? If you don’t believe me, keep reading.
When I was back in uni, I had a friend that he’s always doing his assignment hours before submission. One time, he did a 2,000 words report in just five hours! I was like, “What the hell bro? Can you even make it?” He just casually said “I don’t care, if I can make it it’s good. But if not, I’m fine with the penalty too”.
Wow, this guy is living a YOLO life.
When the results were out, I was blown away. He surprises me by scoring 8/10, while mine was just 7/10.
I was like THIS IS NOT FAIR AT ALL! How come I spend weeks ahead of him to do this assignment, but he manages to score higher than me?
So how then? Sometimes you just need a bit of luck, eh?
Not really, but it’s more about…
Comfort zone.
My friend actually mastered the topic, while I struggle quite a bit. He had everything organised from his head without any notes on his book. Sometimes we just need that momentum that your mind can think fast and furious. If we are really in the zone of doing it, eventually it will flow through.
Alright, think about the benefits of working everything instantaneously.
Doing things part by part different times can eliminate that momentum. You still need to re-think again how to follow up from the last part and so on. It may create more confusion than usual. A lot of times that I have to scrap my draft, just because I have done it at separate times.
By working on the go, it keeps up the momentum that you have. You have everything in mind already and you may even forget on the next day if you didn’t let it out immediately. Most of the time I slept late because that’s the time that my brain functions well. When I woke up, I might forget everything about what I want to say.
To be honest, this skill is quite hard to master and few people are able to do it. Some of us may prefer to be cautious and careful about what they’re working on. It’s true because we can utilise the extra day to ensure everything is right. If you feel that you’re this type of person, I highly suggest not to leave your work at the very last minute.
Since joining Medium, I use this technique quite often. Most of the time I wrote my new ideas at midnight and I keep writing on it until then end. Even this article came up at 1 am, but essentially, I will read again and edit some parts later on the day to make it more organise. Lucky enough that I can publish my story at any time (No pressure, phew).
So, if you feel that you always leave your work at the last minute, don’t feel bad about yourself! I know that a lot of you have your own ways to complete tasks. If that’s the best way for you to be productive and achieve the best result, then do it!
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Christopher Reno Budiman is a writer, explorer and entrepreneur-minded person. He received Bachelor of Business (Hospitality Management) and Bachelor of International Hospitality Management with Swiss Hotel Association accreditation. He’s on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn if you would like to know more about him.