Deadlines

​I was reading this morning about deadlines.  It got me thinking.  Since I have retired there are definitely fewer of them.
My life was governed by deadlines.  I needed to catch a train at a certain time to start work at a certain time.  I needed to get there by a certain time so I could have breaky before I started.  At work I needed to have uploaded things by a certain time in the month.  Outside of work I needed to have things prepared, to be ready.  People depended on me.  If it were to happen, it was my job.
These days I still have them, but they are fewer.  There are those I do not miss for sure.  Like having to get up five days a week to be some place at a certain time.
But having some deadlines is good for me.  It seems retirement is seen as the time to cast off the restrains that I have lived to most of my life.  Thing is, I’ve tried it and decided deadlines are good for me.
Deadlines bracket experiences.  Mostly I learn from them.  Having others depend on me is healthy for me.  I can forgo doing anything, and someone probably would be found to do what is needed.  But I want to be that someone.  I used to wonder where they would find the 14 people to replace me when I left.  They did not replace the job.  That was not in the script!
I have a mate who has told everyone he is doing something.  It is what he is doing, but he deliberately told others, to reinforce what he is doing.  He knows himself well enough.  When something is not “out there,” it is easy to give it away.  Declare it, and there is an expectation. His deadline is October.
Ashraf Ghani the current President of Afghanistan said something I agree with about deadlines.  “Deadlines concentrate the mind. But deadlines should not be dogmas.”  I reckon setting deadlines is a good idea.  But no personal deadline in my mind should be set in stone.  Sometimes deadlines need adjusting.  Tweaking.  And in some cases, abandoning.  It can be a “it seemed like a good idea at the time” thing.
But some deadlines need to be seen through no matter what.  The “no matter what” can be huge, and the only way the deadline can be met is by doggedly pursuing it.
I had a course I was doing.  I wanted to give up.  I was discouraged from doing so.  I saw it through in the time allocated, but it was a real head down effort.  I did not want to finish it, but I am glad I did.  That taught me a real lesson.  Often my feelings need ignoring and do not have my best interests at heart.  One deadline though is the most important to me and every other deadline is inconsequential in comparison.
I think the businessman and author Harvey Mackay summarized deadlines best when he said, “Deadlines aren't bad. They help you organize your time. They help you set priorities. They make you get going when you might not feel like it.”  The “when you might not feel like it” speaks volumes to me.  Feeling like it today does not mean I will feel like it tomorrow.  To me it depends on the value of the deadline.