Dr. Garry Rogers is Chuckling

Deadlines

By  Dr. Garry Rogers

Agents and editors are generous with deadlines for freelance writers, nonfiction authors, and traditionally published novelists.  Indie authors have only the deadlines they give themselves.  For many of us, our self-imposed deadlines aren’t effective.  We often don’t even notice the faint breeze they stir as they pass by.  We need deadlines to clear away distractions and get us focused.  They are the booster shots that block procrastination.

The Beauty of Deadlines

Consider the deadlines facing business entrepreneurs.  There are deadlines for business formation, finance, facilities, hiring, purchasing, marketing, and shipping.  Each of these requires applications and presentations, and each will have several critical deadlines.  In response to all the deadlines, entrepreneurs sometimes create businesses that earn them millions or billions of dollars.

There are similarities between business entrepreneurs and indie novelists.  The principal one is that both groups are creators, inventors of finely wrought complexity.  So why do business entrepreneurs sometimes get rich, and authors rarely do more than earn a good living?  It’s the deadlines.  The heart-pounding stress of frequent deadlines gives business entrepreneurs greater opportunity for success.

Deadline Magic

Looming deadlines cause wonderful physiological responses.  Scientists have learned that external stress causes your body to begin manufacturing and releasing epinephrine, cortisol, and other hormones.  Your energy level rises, your memory functions improve, your disease immunity increases, and your pain threshold rises.  There may be corresponding physical and mental discomforts; you may loose sleep, you may become nauseated, and you may loose your appetite.  You can moderate the discomfort with exercise, yoga, meditation, etc.  The best moderator, however, is meeting the deadline!  Besides all the other benefits of completing a goal, there is lovely relief when you meet a deadline.

Where Are the Deadlines?

How can you get deadlines?  For independent authors it’s tough.  Contests and grants have deadlines, critique groups have deadlines, and challenges such as the national novel writing month have deadlines.  And of course, you can set goals and deadlines for yourself.  Unfortunately, you can find ways to excuse yourself from any of these deadlines.

Giving Your Deadlines Teeth

You have to give power to your self-imposed deadlines—awesome power beyond your control.  You can do this with social pressure.  Extreme social pressure is hard to ignore.  To give a deadline the power to make you puke, pick meaningful, not just memorable dates—instead of a phase of the moon or a national holidays, choose your wedding anniversary, your mother’s birthday, your girl friend’s birthday, or your first-born child’s birthday.

Next, and this is the really critical part, tell everyone your goals and your deadlines.  Tell your family, friends, fiancé, neighbors, writing groups, coffee shop servers, Facebook followers, high school graduating class, and others.  Especially don’t forget your enemies.  You want to be sure that there are people are looking forward to sharing your success, and people who will delight in your failure.

Danger of Powerful Deadlines

Good strong deadlines will have you refusing afternoon softball games, camping trips, children’s football tournaments, and even dinner dates.  If you forget to exercise and eat properly, your health may suffer.  But with experience, you can learn to create powerful deadlines that increase your chance for success, fame, and fortune.  Millions?  Maybe.  Billions?  Don’t forget your doctor.