Image Source: www.tlnt.com

Image Source: www.tlnt.com

There are a lot of people who will tell you that working under the pressure of a deadline will allow you to produce more results—better results, even. It’s part of the reason why they tell you to set a date for that project you’ve been working on, or to set time limits for working in short, creative spurts.

There is some sense in the theory. For any of you who have been down to the wire, working frantically to finish a project, having found yourself suddenly out of time (rather than artificially creating the scenario for yourself), you know what it feels like to get the work done despite yourself. You know what it feels like to get out of your own way, simply because you’re at the point where you must.

But I would also argue that there is a limit to the whole “pressure promotes creativity” theory. I’ve learned that there is a breaking point between creativity and burnout, and you better learn what that point is for you and make sure you don’t allow yourself to reach it.

The thing is, the pressure (and the effectiveness) of a deadline has a lot to do with fear—fear that you’ll miss the deadline, that you won’t get the job done, that you’ll fail—and fear is a reliable motivator only to a certain extent. Because there are a lot of other things that come along with that pressure to produce: tense shoulders, racing heart, clenched muscles and teeth, nervous stomach. Which are all symptoms of fear.
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Image source: www.news.com.au

Image source: www.news.com.au

You might be able to work effectively, even well, under these circumstances—for a time. But if it carries on too long, you’ll reach that breaking point, where you go from wanting to finish the job well and on time to not giving a damn. And that’s when you’ve reached burnout. You’ve worked so hard and frantically, put so much energy and willpower into the project, that now you’ve finally run out juice, and it doesn’t matter what you’ve invested into it so far; you have nothing left to give.

This is usually the point when a lot of people quit. They tell themselves they were silly to think they could have done it in the first place. And I’ve learned from my own experience that it can be very hard to recover from a place of burnout. It’s next to impossible to kindle the fire that once drove you to do the work in the fist place.

The only way to avoid burnout is to know the balance that works for you. Go ahead and set your deadlines and completion dates—there is a lot of value in creating direction and having a target to work towards—but make sure you give yourself a little breathing room too. Become very good at managing time to your advantage and setting deadlines that promote neither procrastination nor anxiety.

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