Student Blog: Deadline, the Key to Productivity

At the beginning of summer, I made a list of productive things that I wanted to do this season. And now, it's halfway through the summer, and I realize that I haven't been very productive. I kept wondering why, because I love being active and creative. Then I figured out what's been missing. Deadlines. 

If you read my post last month, you know that my summer plans include working, learning, and creating. Well, let's check in on what I’ve done so far. I am working this summer, however, it's a part-time job, so it doesn’t really take up too much time. I wrote music for my friend's concert, but that was done weeks ago, and I haven't written anything since. And I was supposed to do a student mentorship this summer, but after waiting for almost two months, I got the news that the program was being postponed (which was annoying because I kept postponing making summer plans to avoid schedule clashes). So basically, it's been about seven weeks since my summer break started, and I haven’t really done that much.

It’s a bit annoying not achieving my personal goals. I kept making excuses like, I have a family thing that consumes a lot of my time. Or, I have some administrative things to take care of, including renewing my passport and extending my study permit. But most importantly, I have this summer FOMO that prevents me from staying indoors. I came from Indonesia, so I am used to warmth and sunshine all year long. Ever since I moved to Canada for my study, I realized that those things are a luxury. So every time I try to sit at a desk and be productive, I look out the window and think, I’d rather be outside, having a picnic, lying on the beach, or taking a stroll by the creek. This is the only chance I have until next year. So what if I’m not that productive this summer? I will be, once I return to school this fall… But then I remember, I was super productive last summer. I wrote a lot of songs, and produced them into a demo. I did that because I took summer classes, and the demo was one of the final projects. And I finished it because I had deadlines.

Deadlines are important. It gives you a time frame for a project. It gives you a sense of urgency to finish something. When you’re working, your boss or clients give you the deadline. When you’re studying, your teachers give you the deadline. When you’re doing a theater production, the opening night is the deadline. You have other people relying on you meeting those deadlines, and you know the risk of missing them. But the thing is, it’s hard to keep a deadline when it’s a personal project. You are the one giving yourself the deadline. And it’s very easy to change it, because you’re the only person who would be disappointed if you missed it (and most of the time, you’re okay with it). The stakes are lower than failing a class or losing a job. And that’s how a lot of personal projects get abandoned and forgotten.

I remember writing a musical a few years ago. It’s a personal project, so I did it in my spare time. I gave myself a deadline, but I kept postponing it just because I can. It was supposed to be done in a few months, however, it quickly turned into years. But it all changed when I finally got some collaborators. Suddenly, the number of people invested in the project grew from one to four (and later, almost a dozen). That’s when the stakes jumped high. If I didn’t meet the deadlines, a lot of people couldn’t do their work. I became more serious about the project. That’s the beauty of a deadline. It pushes you to be productive and to actually finish the work.

So, if you find yourself struggling to finish something, set a deadline. And if you think you don’t have the discipline to meet your own deadlines, then raise the stakes and get someone to help you stick to them. That is what I’m going to do. I still have time to make this a productive summer. And I will set a realistic deadline, so I can still enjoy this warm season. I’ll do an update in a month and see if I finally finish something. Wish me luck!