About People and Deadlines

I find that people have their own way of meeting (or not meeting) the targeted deadlines. Be it the exam study deadlines or client project deadlines, you will come across people/teams or organizations who do things at different speed. There are 3 typical ways that people could be attempting to reach their deadlines.

1. The Last Hour Person

This unfortunately is the most common type of person/team in our part of the world. When they get the deadline, they start off slow (or think the deadline has a long way to go). And then there is the inevitable final hour acceleration mode, which could mean staying awake many nights before the deadline itself.

2. The Consistent Workhorse

This should have the ideal way of doing things, where people do things based on the total work. Unfortunately, for many, this is just for good for the theory. If you are in this category, good for you or your clients. It is important to notice that even the most ideal team will undergo acceleration in terms of their speed or effort at some time during the project.

3. The Irresponsible

They are most likely not to finish project on time or meet deadlines. They are the ones who generally wait for external inputs to speed up their efforts. Once the inputs stop coming, the deadlines are bound to be missed. The best way to work with such people could be to give them shorter deadlines again and again and send reminders. If not, stay away from these people/team.

So, which one are you?