SquarePeg Books

My husband has noted that “you’re at your best when your hair’s on fire.”

I don’t want to be that person, but I can’t deny that he’s got a point–when I’m forced to work at breakneck speed because of an externally imposed deadline, most of the time I not only get things done, but pull a miracle or three out of nowhere.

This being said, the key seems to be *externally imposed deadline*, by someone I CANNOT bail on.

My husband can give me a deadline for X, but unless there’s a reason like “the house is being inspected to determine value and therefore our entire refinance plan depends on this”, I’m likely to just shrug and not take it seriously.

A friend can give me a deadline for X, but it has to be something I’ve volunteered to do, for them, in the first place. I also reserve the right to say “sorry, that isn’t going to work for reasons” (because I’m working on boundaries).

If my day job says “this needs to get done, and yesterday”, there is a good chance I’ll have it done by deadline, but I won’t let you use my time machine.

If I set a deadline for myself, like say, self-publish this romance novel by Easter, I tend to get squirreled by EVERYTHING and ANYTHING unrelated to writing. Art projects, sewing, property renovations, competitive booger picking, yardwork, it all is suddenly immediately more important and steals my focus.

Or maybe I chuck my focus at the distraction, kinda like throwing your wallet away to distract the robber so you can run away.

This is one of the many things I’m working on, in my quest to self-publish.

“Try” includes baby steps forward. Baby steps count. Baby steps everyday especially count.