On Virtual Deadlines

It’s December.

Well, it magically turned into December about 21 minutes ago from where I’m sitting, and that reminds me a deadline is approaching. The "get the holiday cards out" and "go shopping" deadlines are the top two on my list. I’ve never been good with cards or gifts or things when I had too much time to prepare, I am usually more of a birthday shopper because no one expects birthday gifts after their 30th birthday…unless they have a party then they usually expect a good bottle of liquor.

But I find myself this December under a work deadline. A pretty hefty work deadline too. It seems that for the first time since the business began I cannot run it alone. My husband, myself and the subcontractors on my team are all working dillegently and I have a real fear in my heart that I will not make the deadline.

As far as I know my client’s deadline is not his client’s deadline is not the deadline I have for my subcontractors. It seems we all have a tendancy to push our deadlines a little in order to prepare for the random, unpredictable glitches that can happen when working from a virtual environment. Everything from a storm (which we are having right now) to a baby falling and crying for twenty minutes (one of my subcontractors had that happen yesterday) to taking a break and falling asleep in a chair. There are so many things that can go wrong, and we all try to be responsible business owners and take those unexpected events into account when managing our projects and our time.

Very rarely do my clients know if I’m under a deadline. I do my best as part of my business to make things seem easy. My clients know I work hard, I don’t have to remind them by regaling them with stories of projects past. No need to try and make them understand the angst I have at having too much to do without the information I need to do it. That doesn’t get the project done, and wastes valuable time that I could be using to work.

Because this is a business. As a business owner it’s not about me or my needs or my preferences or how my day is going. It’s about the client. The client’s wants, the client’s needs.

I’m okay with that. In fact, I enjoy the status quo my company has right now. Maybe it’s the last of the leftover turkey, but I’m feeling particularly thankful today!