The deadline effect

Summer is here! A pre-holiday endspurt, a writing tip, and an egg and spoon race.

Hello writing friends, Bec here

With news of my brother’s triumph at the egg and spoon race at his daughters’ school sports day, summer has arrived. It might be the coolest July in the UK for a generation, but it is summer and preparations are underway for a big break.

I’m at my most productive ahead of a holiday. The approaching deadline forces me to focus on what really needs to get done in limited time and items that have been languishing on my to-do list get completed in no time at all. Or abandoned.

Perhaps that’s the secret to productivity - more holidays?

But, is it worth it? 

I am also at my busiest and most stressed as I push for a holiday deadline, frankly I’m a nightmare to be around (Chris nods vigorously). Couldn’t I just work moderately throughout the year and avoid the panic? 

Over the years I have come to accept that work is not evenly paced, if you have external deadlines (even ones you design yourself like a holiday) you will experience pushes of effort with an accompanying surge of stress. Work is seasonal and social, with a calendar we follow, from bank holidays, to school terms and Christmas. 

The deadline effect

We have written before about the endspurt - the idea that we gain extra motivation when a deadline or finishing line is looming close.

Racing for a deadline does not mean rushing and doing a bad job. Much like my brother balancing an egg on a spoon to beat the mothers in the race, I need to carefully balance my responsibilities. Some tasks can get done faster, after all, done is better than perfect. But also, other tasks just take the time they take. 

Which is why this week’s newsletter is a little different. I had planned to share a long read on free writing, but it requires some more research, and I’d rather slow down my efforts and enjoy writing it rather than push for the sake of it. I promise it'll be worth it. 

Want to sprint this August?

On a similar racing theme and in the spirit of looking ahead, we have one of our ever-popular 7-Day Writing Sprints starting on Monday the 5th of August. Sprints are fun, fast and motivational and help you move a piece of writing forward over the space of a week. If you have a holiday approaching it might the perfect time way to get some support and accountability as you race towards a deadline.

» Learn more about sprinting

Our sprints are for paying members only so if you’d like to join us, you’ll need to subscribe before you start. Substack offers a free 7-day trial so you might be able to use this to get a sneak peak of how the sprints work.

If you can’t afford a subscription, we’ll comp you one - just ask - hit reply to this email.

See you soon, Bec