Toying With Deadlines

Throughout school and university, and into my work life as a teacher, I always dreaded deadlines, stressing about getting assignments and lessons completed long before the due date, yet putting things off until the last minute despite the stress that ensued.  I would have thought that working for myself would rid the need for deadlines.  Over the past year I haven't really bothered with them much, except for occasionally rushing to get some things completed for a big trade show or completing a custom order.  However, last month I noticed that there were stacks and stacks of notebooks in various stages of assembly, all strewn across my workspace.  After working here and there on these notebooks, I finally decided to set myself a due date for which to complete the half-notebooks that were cluttering my space.  I gave myself a week to accomplish this, and found that instead of being sidetracked by Facebook, or thinking up some new idea of something I'd like to create, I would actually work on the notebooks whenever I had a chance, knowing that I had a clear time limit.  By Friday, I had completed all I had set out to do and was able to tidy up my workspace and think of which project I wanted to start next.  I've given myself a new project for this week, with another Friday deadline.  After learning how to make awesome envelopes, I've sort gone overboard and made hundreds.  Inspired by the designs, I've been creating matching notecards and putting them into sets with mailing stickers and a self-designed wrap-around label.  Friday will hopefully arrive with neat stacks of packaged envelope/notecard/label sets... Now to get off the computer and get to WORK!
-Maria