Regardless of your job title, meeting deadlines is crucial.
If you don’t meet them your boss gets mad, the client gets mad, someone
somewhere is unhappy.
Your reputation is pretty much the only thing you have to go
on -- your bread and butter. And your reputation is generally based on two
things: the quality of your work, and how well you meet deadlines.
Today, we'll focus on meeting deadlines. Sure, you can do
great work, but if you don't turn your projects in on time, you won't get many
repeat customers.
1. Care about
deadlines. This is the first step, as many people are very lax about
deadlines. You have to be very serious about meeting them, and make them a
priority. And make breaking a deadline a cardinal sin in your book. Once you've
done this step, the rest is just logistics.
2. Keep a list of
projects & deadlines. If you care about deadlines, you'll write them
down, and have one place that you check often to make sure you know what's due
and when. I use a simple online list, but you could use paper. Which tool you
use doesn't matter, as long as you use it.
3. Communicate a
clear deadline. Be sure that you and the client are in agreement with a
specific deadline, including time of day (and factor in time zone differences
as well). If the deadline is fuzzy, you will have trouble meeting it. If the
client doesn't give you a deadline, you need to ask for one.
4. Work in a cushion.
It's wise to build in a cushion for your deadline. To get a clear idea of how
long a project will take, break it down into smaller pieces (see below for
more). If you aren't sure exactly how long each of those pieces takes, break
them down into even smaller pieces. And for each piece, add a small cushion to
your time estimate. Then add up the time estimates of all the pieces, and
you'll have a cushion built in. This will allow for delays, and if you finish
early, the client will be pleased.
5. Have a clear
outcome. You and the client should both agree on a clearly defined outcome.
Don't skip this step, or you could be sorry later. If you turn in a project
that's not what the client wanted, you'll have to do extra work, meaning that
you'll miss the deadline. If you're not absolutely clear what the outcome
should look like, ask some questions of the client until you are clear.
6. Break down the project. This is standard advice for any project, of course, but that's because it works. Don't try to tackle an entire project. Tackle one step at a time. Again, you'll want to break it down into smaller steps, give a time estimate for each step. Each step should be small enough that it takes an hour or less, so it's not too intimidating.
6. Break down the project. This is standard advice for any project, of course, but that's because it works. Don't try to tackle an entire project. Tackle one step at a time. Again, you'll want to break it down into smaller steps, give a time estimate for each step. Each step should be small enough that it takes an hour or less, so it's not too intimidating.
7. Focus on the first
step. Now that you've broken the project down into smaller steps, just
focus on the first one. Don't worry about the rest for now. Give the first step
your full attention, and get going. You'll feel satisfied when you complete it,
and can check it off your list. Then focus on the next step.
8. Block off adequate
time. When you're going to work on a step, be sure to have it blocked off
on your day's schedule. If you're not blocking off time for your most important
tasks, you're probably not getting the important stuff done. However else you
work during the rest of the day, for your freelance projects, block off a good
amount of time for each step, and treat it like a doctor's appointment -- you
can't miss it.
9. Have a start and
complete date for each step. When breaking down a project, give a start and
complete date for each step, so you can get a good feel for the timeline of the
project, and whether you're on schedule or behind. It also keeps you on track
if you know when each step should be started and completed.
10. Communicate with each step. Once you've completed a step, send the completed step to your client if possible. Sure, it won't look like a completed project, but you can show that you're making progress, you keep yourself on track, and you can get feedback communicated from the client. Better to know early on that you're headed in the wrong direction than at the end of the project.
10. Communicate with each step. Once you've completed a step, send the completed step to your client if possible. Sure, it won't look like a completed project, but you can show that you're making progress, you keep yourself on track, and you can get feedback communicated from the client. Better to know early on that you're headed in the wrong direction than at the end of the project.
11. Don't overcommit.
One of the biggest causes of missed deadline is that we commit to more than we can handle. Learn to
say no if you cannot commit to finishing a project on time.
12. Learn from
mistakes. If you bust a deadline, take a few minutes to analyze what went
wrong and how you can avoid that in the future.
13. Stay up late.
If you planned badly, or just procrastinated, and you're up against a tight
deadline, do whatever it takes to meet it. That means staying up late and
working long hours if possible.
14. Negotiate and
meet a second deadline. If you absolutely cannot make deadline (you
probably overcommitted), you should contact your client and negotiate a second
deadline. It's much better to do this than to let the deadline go by without
any communication. Whatever you do, be sure to meet this second deadline. Two
missed deadlines in a row is bad news for your reputation.
Hey. Don’t beat yourself up. We all make mistakes. The whole
point of life is to learn from our experiences. With 20+ years meeting tight printing deadlines, we have enough experience to help you stay on top of yours. Marketink is
your go-to company for Faster and More Reliable Printing, Banners and Large
Graphics. View our website www.marketinkgroup.com
or Call 877.990.1616
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