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Dealing With Impossible Deadlines
by Steve Slaunwhite
What do you do when your client hands you a great project but with a daunting deadline? As a freelance professional, you may not want to turn down good paying work. Or, risk losing the client to another writer.
Your first step: Negotiate.
When a client says something like, "We need to see a draft by Friday this week", ask why that particular date is so important.
In my experience, most deadlines are arbitrary. Clients basically pick a date that is most convenient to them.
This is understandable. Busy business owners, marketing managers, and agency creative directors naturally want to get their hands on the copy as early as possible. It makes things a lot less stressful – for them! – because that's one less component of the project they have to worry about.
In these cases, you can often negotiate a more realistic deadline that fits both your schedule and that of your client's. For example, you could say: "I'm booked solid early this week, but I can dive into your project with both feet on Thursday. What would happen if I delivered the finished copy to you by next Wednesday at noon?"
More often than not, the client will agree. And you can breathe a sigh of relief!
Sometimes, however, the client has a very good reason for a given deadline. Perhaps a trade show is looming and the salespeople need a new brochure to hand out to visitors. Or a seminar date is coming up and the email invitations have to be sent this week.
When a deadline is carved in stone, you can still negotiate – a little. If your client wants the job done by Friday, you may be able to ask for an extension to Monday or even Tuesday, but not much more.
So what do you do if a deadline is just that: The deadline.
Unless you're willing to say No to your client and accept the consequences, your only choice is: Just do it.
Here are some tips that will make working under impossible – well, nearly impossible – deadlines a lot easier.
1. Clear The Decks. Put everything you can on the backburner. Free up as much time as possible to devote exclusively to the project.
2. Add An Hour. Start an hour earlier, or work an hour longer, each day. An extra hour of work is relatively painless, yet you'll be surprised by how much more you'll accomplish.
3. Close The Door. Ask your friends, colleagues, and family (especially the kids) to limit interruptions.
4. Plan Your Work. Decide, in advance, how much you'll need to accomplish each day. Then stick to that schedule.
5. Start Now. Don't procrastinate a few days and then pull an all-nighter.
6. Avoid Perfection. You don't have the time for that luxury! Write a draft as quickly as possible, no matter how terrible it is. Then clean it up. Revise it. And revise it again until it's done. (Aim for excellence, not perfection.)
7. Do Your Best. Ultimately, that's all you can do. Your best work, given the time you have available.
Surprisingly, copy that's written under pressure – even when the timelines seem impossible and a detriment to quality – is often very good. Go figure.
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