Tips for Dealing With Impossible Deadlines

If you have been dealing with deadlines you find impossible to meet, you’re not alone. Many employees find that the work they have been assigned and the deadline of when it is due doesn’t quite match up. The problem isn’t that you aren’t fast enough, but that your supervisor is most likely not aware of how long work realistically takes. Here are some tips to deal with these unreasonable deadlines more effectively.

Inform Your Supervisor of Your Abilities

Instead of just going to your boss and telling them you can’t make the deadline, be specific about what you can do within that set amount of time. If you are asked to submit 10 pages of work, but know you can only complete about 7 by the deadline, first speak about how you can complete 7, then explain it will take another day or so for the other 3. That way, you are showing your dedication to the project, but also being reasonable.

Find Out What Colleagues are Doing

If you do the same type of work as others in your office, ask them about their work and deadlines, and how they are making it work. Perhaps they have developed a strategy for getting it done faster or more efficiently. It also helps to know if others struggle meeting the deadlines that you do, and that they have the same amount of work to do. If not, this might be something to bring up to your supervisor the next time.

Look at the Project Differently

Sometimes an unreasonable deadline is just a matter of changing how the project is done. Just because you have completed certain steps in a certain order for years, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. There are always ways of adjusting how you approach any given assignment, and this can be the perfect opportunity to improve things. Try doing steps in a different order, breaking down the project differently, or completely re-thinking how to get it done. You might fid that you can get close to the deadline with these new changes.

Be Open Minded

Take a moment to consider whether or not the deadline is really impossible, or if these changes and a different schedule could get you to that deadline. After asking around, did you find other colleagues to be meeting their deadlines with the same amount of work? It might be that they have developed a different system to get things done that takes less time. Don’t afraid to think outside the box to get things done and consider if maybe the deadline isn’t that unreasonable after all.

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