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Do you work better with a looming deadline?

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    Do you work better with a looming deadline?

    Had a bit of work due "some time in January" since before Christmas, been plodding along not really put much effort into it until today when I have been given the deadline of the 20th, so work like mad for two weeks and will be jobs a good'un. Where as there's been that many changes to the spec since the first request, so if I had completed it back then I would have had to update/re-do it a number of times.
    Originally posted by Stevie Wonder Boy
    I can't see any way to do it can you please advise?

    I want my account deleted and all of my information removed, I want to invoke my right to be forgotten.

    #2
    Honestly? I'm lazy as a **** with a horrendous procrastination streak. It's literally the desire for money and the fear of getting sacked that has got me this far.

    Of course - it never does me any good because I normally end up working like mad on something I could have taken my time over.

    So, uh yeah.

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      #3
      Definitely. Why do you think I posted three links about dealing with procrastination on Monday?

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by vwdan View Post
        Honestly? I'm lazy as a **** with a horrendous procrastination streak. It's literally the desire for money and the fear of getting sacked that has got me this far.

        Of course - it never does me any good because I normally end up working like mad on something I could have taken my time over.

        So, uh yeah.
        I'm an agile bod so try not to give teams deadlines but I noticed that the contractors work better with deadlines.

        It's literally the desire for money and the fear of getting sacked that has got me this far
        This!

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          #5
          Originally posted by SimonMac View Post
          Had a bit of work due "some time in January" since before Christmas, been plodding along not really put much effort into it until today when I have been given the deadline of the 20th, so work like mad for two weeks and will be jobs a good'un. Where as there's been that many changes to the spec since the first request, so if I had completed it back then I would have had to update/re-do it a number of times.
          I always treat deadlines as a guide unless there is a very good reason for that deadline. I've lost count of projects where PMs guess a deadline or worse the MD or someone higher up comes up with a deadline.

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            #6
            Originally posted by VillageContractor View Post
            I'm an agile bod so try not to give teams deadlines but I noticed that the contractors work better with deadlines.



            This!
            Do they work better tho? I've seen some crazy deadlines and people look like they are working but they are producing bug-ridden crap because they are rushing.

            Not saying your deadlines are doing that just saying that sometimes a dev actually taking time to think about something and messing about with different approaches produces a better product.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by SimonMac View Post
              Had a bit of work due "some time in January" since before Christmas, been plodding along not really put much effort into it until today when I have been given the deadline of the 20th, so work like mad for two weeks and will be jobs a good'un. Where as there's been that many changes to the spec since the first request, so if I had completed it back then I would have had to update/re-do it a number of times.
              The specification has modifications history?
              If you change according the modifications history the deadline should be changed and it's not your fault, unless you have the deadline for the release at you door.

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                #8
                I love the whooshing sounds as they go past.

                If I have a deadline, I'll endeavour to meet it, and it definitely concentrates the mind, but I'm not too worried if I miss it, since most deadlines are rather arbitrary, and end up being delayed for other reasons more often than not. I remember completing some software and it didn't actually get used until two years after it had gone live. I know, because that's when a bug report came in that showed it had never been run!
                Down with racism. Long live miscegenation!

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                  #9
                  Absolutely. In a way there's nothing worse than a big project with no real target date, or at least a target date that's so far away it doesn't seem real.

                  I can be a terrible procrastinator at times, but also I can work pretty fast when I need to. I've found where I've had to give estimates I'm usually pretty accurate. But it's not because my estimates are an accurate reflection of how long the work will take, it's that I speed up or slow down as appropriate to make the estimate look right. I don't think project managers understand that.
                  Will work inside IR35. Or for food.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    An Englishman’s mind works best when it is almost too late.

                    -- Edgar Vincent, Lord D'Abernon
                    (Not sure when or in what context that quote was said, but I would guess it related to WW 1.)
                    Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

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