How to Use Deadlines to Improve Time Management

Time management is the key to success. You must VALUE YOUR TIME to get ahead. Yet for some people – myself included – it’s really hard to make the most of the 24 hours that we are given.

The reason? Because we consider time to be a renewable resource. Until it isn’t.

Back in 1910 Arnold Bennett told us, in his book called How to LIve on 24 a Day, that we should think of time as currency. That philosophy will still get us far today. If an hour was a dollar, and you only had 24 dollars every day to spend, how would you spend your money?

I would definitely give myself more deadlines to get things done. Do I really want to spend 3 dollars (hours) of the 24 that I have today wasting time on social media? I think not. Instead, I would use those dollars (hours) to buy myself (accomplish) something that gets me closer to achieving my goals.

What emerges is this: It’s usually easier to get something done when you have a deadline. And that is why deadlines are a very effective time management tool.

How You Manage Time When You Have a Deadline

When you were in school and had a paper or project due, you somehow managed to get it done on time, no matter what else was going on in your life. Thinking back, I don’t know how I juggled academics with extracurricular activities and my social life, but somehow the assignments got done.

The same thing applies at work – if you want to keep your job, you meet your deadlines.

And at home we often apply the “deadline” principle without realizing it. If you are hosting a birthday party or Thanksgiving dinner – well, food is ready and decorations are up when people arrive.

When you are working towards a deadline, you realize that time is running out and you have to make the most of what you’ve got.

Why Unstructured Time is Not Productive

Somehow these same principles are hard to apply to personal time or unstructured time.

We don’t operate everyday life under strict deadlines.

So, during our downtime, we end up surfing online, playing a game on our phones, starting project here, and getting distracted there. Basically, we flit from one activity to another without direction.

This continues until our next self imposed “deadline”. This deadline could take the form of:

• time to go to work
• bedtime
• dinner time
• an appointment time.

Take Charge of Your Unstructured Time

The key to getting ahead is learning how to take control of all that unstructured time – both at work and at home.

You have two choices:

1. Become a victim of your circumstance – meaning continue without a plan or
2. Take charge of your time and be in control of what you do.

If you are here looking for a way to improve your time management – I am guessing that number two is what you are going for.

One way to do this is by creating daily routines that put all your mundane tasks on autopilot. And for all the big stuff, give yourself some deadlines.

How to Set Deadlines for Yourself

All the deadlines that I have mentioned so far are externally imposed to some extent. Other people or circumstances dictate when something needs to get done.

Now you need to take this concept of deadlines and learn how to apply it to your free time.

You also want to do this in a way that is less stressful and more appealing so that you continue to use deadlines as your secret advantage to keep pushing yourself towards your goals.

Step 1: Create a Time Focused Mindset

The first and easiest thing to do is create a time focused mindset.

Drill these concepts into your mind:

• Your time is valuable.
• Time is finite – it is limited.
• The choices you make on how to use your time are crucial.

Step 2: Set a Personal Goal and Deadline

When I hear the word “goals” I always think of something lofty and long term like “Make a million dollars in 5 years”. In actuality a “goal” can be something much smaller and seemingly insignificant.

Maybe your hallway closet is overflowing and it is driving you nuts. The problem is that the only time you think about it is when you go to hang up your jacket.

The way to make progress is to create a goal for yourself using the S.M.A.R.T. goal framework create your goal to organize the closet by the end of the week.

Now you have one concrete project with a deadline.

If a self imposed deadline isn’t doing it for you, create one with an external push. Perhaps clean the closet before the in-laws visit next month. If you want to accomplish an exercise goal, make the deadline your next vacation or a wedding that you plan to attend. Then work backwards to create your plan.

Here are some goal setting strategies that will motivate you to get more done.

Step 3: Make A Plan

In a perfect world, you should write down a plan to make this project happen. What will you do on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etc to move the needle?

If you can swing it, great!

But if you shy away from this kind of structure, all is not lost. Fall back on your time focused mindset. Keep your goal of organizing the closet by the end of the week front and center in your mind and …

Be VERY Vigilant About Your Choices

When you CHOOSE to do something, you are actually making 2 choices.

You are not only choosing to do something with your time – you are also choosing NOT to do something else.

With a time focused mindset you should be asking yourself this question over and over again throughout the day:

If I choose to do this activity, will it bring me closer to accomplishing my goals?

Using our example, whenever you find yourself with free time throughout the week – you should be asking yourself – What can I do right now to get the closet organized by the end of the week?

When you find yourself falling into the black hole that is Facebook or TikTok, you can pull yourself out by reminding yourself of your closet organization goal.

And here’s a bonus – when you are out and about running errands, you will remember your closet organization goal and pick up the bins or organizers that you need. Because you are on top of your time management – you may even surprise yourself by compiling a list of the exact dimensions of your closet so you can find products that will fit.

It is amazing how efficient you become by practicing good time management.

Beware of this Trap

Just beware of one trap – too much of a good thing is bad. When you put this formula into play, you will be blown away by how well it works. So, you might get so excited that you will start to create lots of personal goals. You will want to do all the things.

When you try to do too much, you get overwhelmed and you end up getting nothing done.This is where you might give up on the process. My advice is make a list of all the things you want to do but ONLY tackle one project at a time.

In the book The One Thing, the authors explain why multi tasking doesn’t work, and that it is much easier to get ahead by focusing on only one. Only when it is finished should you start on the next one.

Steps for Good Time Management

It sounds really simple doesn’t it?

• Change your mindset
• Set a goal and a DEADLINE
• Create a plan
• Make choices that move you forward

If you are looking for more time management tips, check out our Ultimate Guide to Personal Productivity here.