Deadlines, Schmeadlines
Deadlines have basically been an anathema my entire life. I never could seem to generate enough energy
to complete a project in a sane, measured way. The pressure of the looming deadline created a vaccuum of dedicated activity. Nothing happened. And yet I worried and mentally sweated the disaster that was about to befall me.
That was my modus operandi all through elementary school, junior high, senior high and college. Wait until the last minute, then cram everything into a feverish laser of focused concentration – shutting out everything else, absolutely no distractions, while I became absorbed by the current project, barely delivering it on time. Whew! I became adept at pulling the rabbit out of the hat – to the amazement of all, especially myself.
All this time I was simultaneously castigating myself for being lazy … a procrastinating ne'er-do-well. But my pattern remained the same, regardless of the epithets I threw at myself.
Breakthrough! I was exploring that pattern, using the Truth Process taught in the More To Life program. When I told the truth about how my unique system works, I got that all that procrastination was actually a kind of gestation. The project context and my particular slant on it was budding and shaping without conscious attention, running in the background, never far from my mind. And when there was no more time for gestating, out it all popped in a big whoosh.
So now, instead of berating myself for how I do things, I have gained a modicum of peace about my delivery method. It's just how I work best. And truly, I like being totally absorbed in something – I find it to be enlivening, creative, juice-ifying.
PS I am facing another deadline – one which could involve YOU. The deadline for contributing to the Connecting America Fun Run is this Friday, 17 September, 4 days from now. So don't do like I do. If you're gonna do it, do it now! <laugh>
Love your blog Ann. Always! Thought I’d offer up a comment on this one, because this is so ME! I love the book “Orbiting the Giant Hairball” and particularly the author’s reference about cows quietly chewing their cud in the pasture. From the outside in, it may look like they’re not busy (much like your gestation period) but in reality they are turning grass into milk. Pretty big stuff! Gestation, digestion, percolation–all part of the creative process! Whatever works!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for opening that door for me too! Now I can relax as I race into that deadline. Thanks too for “Juice-ifying.” Hope it pops up on one of my pages soon. Much love, Charles
Ann, you and I are two peas in a pod on this one. I recently had this breakthrough for myself regarding writing for a deadline. I noticed all drivenness I sometimes feel about what I have to know and experience before I can deliver an article. I noticed the noble goals of that perfectionism as well. When I tell the truth (I write well under pressure, I believe good writing asks more questions than it answers), I feel more willing to trust myself when it comes time to get the writing done (today, as a matter of fact). And, I don’t fret when I think about the deadline, I let myself enjoy gathering information and letting it “cook” in my mind and life until it’s time to put it in writing. Thanks for the eloquent reminder!