At some point, you are going to face a challenge that threatens your progress on a project in the workplace. No matter how hard you work, it’s bound to happen. Sometimes it’s your fault. Sometimes someone else is to blame. Sometimes, it’s no one’s fault (as in the case of a natural disaster that causes a delay in the production of supplies). Regardless of who is responsible, the important question is how you will respond. You have to decide what you can do that will preserve your (or the company’s) reputation while still satisfying the needs and requirements of your client.
That is where today’s #Fact comes in: The best strategy is to let people know of problems immediately. I don’t mean call the stakeholders in a panic, of course. Meet with your team or your manager, and figure out how to handle the situation.
As soon as you have a plan, let your stakeholders know. Tell them what happened, why it happened (if pertinent), and what you are going to do. Don’t blame anyone. That doesn’t help. Focus on how you will do your best to get the project in as close to the deadline as possible.
Sometimes you need your stakeholders to help with the solution. Perhaps they will need to approve a new supply or a different design. In those cases, you meet with your team to figure out the alternatives and their strengths and weaknesses. Once you have the options figured out, contact the stakeholders with the information, giving them a recommendation for the best choice.
In addition to my suggestions, check out The Muse’s suggestions for What to Do When You Know You’re Going to Miss a Deadline.
P.S. Anyone other than me bugged by the gender representation in that infographic? Notice that it’s all men, except for the suggestion that deals with cleaning. Grr.
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This week I will be struggling with time management since I’m participating in recruitment for my sorority. I made sure that the recruitment chair knew I needed time to work on my assignments. If I didn’t tell her, then I would be struggling balancing all my work. This is why it’s very important to think of any problems that may arise ahead of time so that you know how to solve them if they do come up.
I usually try to finish all my assignments one day before the deadline. If any problems happen, I will have plenty of time to solve them.
The best strategy I have found for dealing with deadlines is to start early. Giving yourself as much time as possible to figure problems out and not stress makes deadlines not as scary.
Another strategy I like to deal with procrastination is a little counter-intuitive, but works. I don’t know if it has a name, but simply put, if you need to work on a project, just get prepared to do the smallest amount you can. For instance, if you need to write a paper, sit down, get all your resources you need out for it, and write a single word. You’ll end up writing more than just that word. I think this works by getting over the fear of a huge project and breaking the first step down to just a single word.
Deadline stress is probably the demon I have to beat the most during the semester. When I start to feel the pressure of that 11:59 p.m. deadline approaching (in any class), I tend to spend a few minutes getting any frustration out my system. Whether that is taking a walk, watching an annoying TV show that I can yell at, or even sleeping, I try to release all my tension as early as possible to ensure that I won’t feel the strain while actually working.
Breaks are definitely a major part about beating stress, but to avoid the stress, I try to start as early as I can. As soon as I get an assignment, I read the requirements and get an understanding of what I have to do. If it’s a programming assignment, I’ll start writing out my classes and comments. If it’s math homework, I’ll do at least 2 or 3 problems. That way, there is just one less thing to do the next time you pick up the assignment.