Again late on updating the blog, which is where this title came from. It's been pretty busy in my world lately, mostly with vehicle swapping going on (true but still an excuse). But it brings to mind another issue that seems to plague people I know. Procrastination and the inability to meet deadlines. This can apply to any thing, not just design or art or even meeting friends to go to the movies.
I notice that when I have a deadline that is too far in the future I will sit and think "ok let's get started! Don't want to go into 'Panic Mode' if I drag my feet!". I will start some part of the project, do pretty good on time with it that first day. The next thing I know it's due in 48 hours and that's all I have done on it! So for the next 40 hours I will start snapping at people, closet myself off, turn up loud annoying music (to keep me awake while pulling an all nighter) and guzzle coffee like it's going out of style. All this while frantically working, belittling myself for timing and sniping at people around me. Let's say it's not pretty.
The last time this happened (thankfully not to that degree for a while) was a project that I knew about for approximately 12 weeks (school project, I love syllabus work). I started brainstorming then drawing up ideas, then the drive just "Poofed" as I had some other things come up. Then 3 days before the presentation (which was to 3 professionals, not the teacher) I realized that my self promo (the project) was only in the drawn up stage. I had to create 4 pieces, all identical, showing these people what kind of designer I was ... and prove that I had creativity that wasn't just follow the guidelines of a project sheet. I did cigar boxes that were decoupaged with pictures I took, inside was a resume and business card I designed for myself and 5 over-sized postcards of my work (they were pretty neat, it was like cropping some of my school projects so they appeared abstract). Lets say I should have spent the full 12 weeks on it.
Why would someone deliberately put themselves in this position where they would miss a deadline and potentially lose a job, client, contract? My reason (or excuse since there is no good reason to miss the deadline, unless you get kidnapped by monkeys and taken to the mother ship) is I get distracted and then say "oh it can wait until ...." then just forget about it. Or I will say "I need to do this" and have someone ask me for something else (which I can't say no to ever, but that's another topic). Do we do this to ourselves so we have to have that panic moment to be creative? Is it detrimental to your creative process to have a deadline that seems so far in the distance come up and slap you saying "ha ha here I am!"?
Right now I work in a field that has no give on deadlines. If I miss one I cost companies up to $800 a day plus medical costs. I have never missed one of those deadlines. I got close once. So now the next thing is, should I charge myself funds every day I am late on a creative deadline? I don't know.
Well next time I should have an update on time, and maybe a more put together topic.
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