Oh my gosh, I am! Are any of these statements true for you?
- I’m super productive, and focused, but not until the deadline is looming.
- What takes me 4 hours to do in advance will only take me 1 hour when I’m near my deadline.
- I don’t get any of my good ideas until the last minute.
- I worked on this in advance but then had to redo everything because I thought of a better way at the last minute.
Are we kindred souls?
What IS it about deadlines that kick us into high gear? Ok, not just high gear (as in productivity) but also into high-quality gear? It’s as if some special inspiration descends upon me in the 11th hour that I cannot, for the life of me, conjure up ahead of the deadline. All of a sudden, the right words, the creative ideas, the perfect examples, and the zone make an appearance.
Here are some examples: The high school term paper I finished the week before the due date got a shaky B. The one I wrote in an all-nighter just before turning it in got a solid A. Or, with creating the Art of Gratitude course, I spent all summer producing an outline of the lessons. But in two months, I wrote it all, completed 4 paintings, videoed, edited videos, assembled the course and published it. How can that be?
Sure, being driven by the deadline get’s results, but it’s a frustrating personality trait. It’s frustrating when life has to come to a screeching halt to accommodate work on the deadline that is finally inspired.
I tried to find info about this on line, and only found a few vague references to “fight or flight” response and “real or imagined adrenaline” that kicks in when we realize, hey–this matters. Despite the lack of info on the web, I know this is real. I’ve been experiencing it without fail for 30+ years.
So I’m turning to you. Do you experience this? Have you found a way to tap into the inspiration without having to wait until you are up against the gun? Please, share your insight!
