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Deadlines: never miss one again

We’ve all been there – half an hour before the deadline, and still hurrying to get the last pieces of the puzzle together. Your heart is pounding, hands are sweating, and you’re completely rushed off your feet.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. Since HealthBid are experts at meeting strict deadlines, we have come up with a few handy tips to help you on your way to meeting all your future targets.

 

Write it down!

So obvious, yet so often forgotten – write down your deadlines as soon as you become aware of them.

We don’t mean in the corner of a notepad or on the back of your hand, either. Rather, write on sticky notes, on white boards, in your diary etc. Write down your deadlines everywhere, a constant reminder it’s a day you need to be prepared for.

Use colour

A joint study entitled ‘The Categorisation of Time and Its Impact on Task Initiation’ from the Universities of Chicago and Toronto has found that colour-coding helps people meet deadlines.

The study used two calendars – one with the same colour background for the entire week, and one with one colour for weekdays and another for weekends.

It found that people who used a calendar with all the days of the week highlighted in one colour were more likely to start the task than those who had different colours highlighted for weekdays and weekends.

What does this mean? Using just one colour helped people view days in a different way – as more urgent – because the weekend wasn’t ‘in the way’.

Schedule deadlines on the same day of each week

If you schedule deadlines for the same day of the week as the day it’s assigned. If you have a deadline of next Friday, set the deadline on a Friday exactly one week before.

Why? it will appear ‘more present’, again according to the earlier study.

Set internal deadlines

This is our personal favourite – and if you’re strict with yourself, it works every time.

Set your own deadlines, and treat it as seriously as the real one. Since time management can be dependent on people and tasks, giving a ‘false’ internal deadline will make others, and yourself, act more urgently. Aiming to get everything completed days before ensures you have a safety net of spare time if required.

 

Alternatively, if you’re writing a bid and the deadline is looming, you could always hire some help from us at HealthBid! Contact tom.sheppard@healthbid.co.uk for more information.