Deadlines

I have always been big on deadlines.  Where I used to work, I would always ask my boss, when something needed to be done by.  Mostly it would mean I had time before I needed to work on it.
Recently I had lunch with someone who spends a lot of time in another culture.  They were saying that in that culture, you state what needs to be done and by when, and then do not talk about it at all until it is due.  If you do talk about it you are basically considered an idiot.  I don’t like anyone being that close to the truth about me, but I don’t know that that philosophy would work here.  Horses for courses.  It works for them.
I have found that unless a deadline is set, things tend not to get done.  One of my favourite sayings is, that it takes as long to do something as you’ve got to do it.   If I have a week, it takes a week.  If I have six months, it takes six months.  Rarely am I given a task, and have it completed well ahead of schedule.  If I do, I do not consider it finished, but spend time tweaking it.
So often if someone says to me, I would like you to do so and so, but does not set a do by date, then it does not get done at all.   To me, if it does not have a do by date, then it is not important in any one’s mind.  It might be a great idea, but there is no expectation.  On occasion, this can lead to one to having their ideas stolen if they are not careful. Sometimes this matters, while at other times it is just getting the thing done that matters.
I was in a situation where I proposed something I thought was a great idea.  I heard nothing about it.  Then, a number of years later the idea was championed by the person I told, like it came from them.  In this case, it really did not matter to me who’s idea it was seen to be.  What really mattered, was that the idea was embraced.
I have an idea I do not talk about.  Personally I think it would work.  I reckon it would make a lot of easy money.  I would need expertise I do not have.  There is a good chance it will die with me, or someone will do it at a future date. So be it and good on them I reckon.
I only talk about setting deadlines, as in my experience it was a little unusual.  Certainly things got done better than I could have ever done them, but I am the kind of person who needs a deadline to operate effectively.