There's nothing quite like a project deadline to motivate a person

[XemaSab]

To peel the paint off the beck fence, clean your room, paint the kitchen, plan out the back yard, do some weeding, plan next year's vegetable garden, walk the dogs, unpack the china...

[NJmaverick]

1. Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow

:hi:

I can remember in college when I had homework. Everything and anything suddenly seemed interesting and important.

[hunter]

2. If it's really a deadline shouldn't someone be dead if you miss it?

The ticking time bomb on your desk is set to go off at noon. Do you cut the red wire, the blue wire, run like hell to get away from the bomb, or do as the bomber demands?

Why are most deadlines mundane and not matters of survival? When I've worked in emergency medical services the deadlines were very real, but nobody called them deadlines. You simply dropped everything you possibly could, and directed your entire energy toward ensuring the survival of whoever was at risk. You never thought, "Hey, it's probably going to be a good twenty minutes before that guy bleeds to death. I've got time for a snack!"