How to Set Deadlines for Yourself

The word deadline brings fear into many people's lives, but it should never prevent you from setting deadlines for yourself. Goals and deadlines go hand-in-hand and as a result, deadlines provide the opportunity for you to achieve success.

This process can be intimidating but it is important to helping you meet the success that you seek.

Learning how to set goals and realistic deadlines for achieving goals is the key to your success.

As they say, let's start at the very beginning for this lesson on how to set deadlines for yourself.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Calendar
• Pen
• Paper
• Notes

1. Remember that goals and deadlines go hand-in-hand. Gather a pen/pencil, paper and calendar and sit in a comfortable chair. Be ready to answer questions honestly. Do not second guess yourself, you do have the skills to do this.

2. At the top of your paper you will want to put the word 'goal'. Underneath of this title you need to put down the goal that you are trying to achieve. Make sure that you provide enough detail that you can return to it several days later and still know exactly what you wanted.
   
   Divide the page into columns that show:
   * Anticipated Time (how much time will it take to achieve the goal)
   * Resources (list of resources needed for your goal)
   * Required Deadline (if available)
   * Your deadline (when you want to achieve your goal)

3. Evaluate the task or goal that needs to be achieved by asking yourself pertinent questions, such as:
   
   1. Is this task time-sensitive?
   2. Is the task labour intensive?
   3. Does the task require the involvement of others?
   4. Do you need special tools to complete the task?
   5. How much time is required for the task?
   6. What are the consequences for not completing the task/goal on time?
   7. Is there a predefined date by which the task must be completed to allow you or someone else to move to the next step in the project?

4. Set your deadline using:
   1. The time estimate from the questions above.
   2. Look at your calendar and at your daily schedule determine the number of hours per day/week you can commit.
   3. Build in extra time for potential problems and/or interaction with others on the project.
   4. Note your deadline in your calendar and on the planning sheet.
   5. Review your deadlines as you progress through the project to make sure you can stay on track. This can be accomplished by setting mini-deadlines (milestones) for yourself.
   
   Learning to set up reasonable deadlines takes practice. Don't stop planning and setting deadlines as you will find that it takes less time and energy in the long run than worrying about if you should have set a deadline or not.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember to always list your resources, whether it is other people or tools, accessing these on a timely basis can impact your deadline.
• Inflate your time estimate by 15% to allow for emergencies or other things that can just crop up.
• As you move towards your goal you might have to reassess the deadline that you initially set. This can be moving the deadline up or extending the deadline to allow you to more comfortably achieve success.
• Success can be elusive, but by remembering to set reasonable goals and deadlines for oneself you can help to reduce the potential for failure.