We’ve all fallen victim to a tight deadline before, whether it be from when we were students, pulling an all-nighter to get an essay done, or from those times when we’ve had to order some cheap takeout dinner to have at our desk because it’s the only way to meet a due date. Believe it or not, there are ways to meet deadlines without completely stressing out. It mostly comes down to time management, organization and communication.

Because deadlines matter, Fellow has created a comprehensive guide with 8 tips to meet deadlines.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty details, let’s start by understanding what deadlines are and why they matter:

What are deadlines?

Deadlines are essentially due dates for specific tasks or projects on the go. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a deadline as:

“A point in time by which something must be done.”

In the business world, deadlines are typically assigned to tasks or projects. The deadline then gives you an idea of how to prioritize your responsibilities and also indicates the level of urgency of the tasks you’re taking on.

Why deadlines matter

Although deadlines are often associated with a somewhat negative dogma of being stressful, they’re actually very beneficial for keeping us on track at work.

Deadlines keep you accountable for your goals because only you have responsibility for the outcome. By keeping you accountable, deadlines help you focus and reduce procrastination, which makes it easier to assess your workload and say no to other requests.

Another benefit is that deadlines help us meet team goals and make sure that everyone is working in sync. These ideas are reiterated in a recent article by the Harvard Business Review:

“Deadlines are a prioritization tool that tell you a given project is important to focus on. They make it easier to honestly assess your workload.”

Now that you have an idea of what deadlines are and why they matter, here are 8 helpful tips for getting things done on time without stressing out (too hard):

8 tips to meet your deadlines

1. Communicate a clear deadline

Make sure that a clear deadline has been communicated. Whether it’s in a team meeting, one-on-one meeting, or a project kick-off, it needs to be crystal clear when the project or action item is due.

In a different article by the Harvard Business Review, the importance of communicating a deadline is highlighted:

“Often, the strictness of a deadline is ambiguous: Employees may not know if the deadline is movable or not. When facing this ambiguity, employees who feel less secure in their jobs – which more often are female employees – may be more likely to err on the side of caution and avoid asking for more time. When assigning tasks, managers should clearly communicate deadline expectations and whether or not it is adjustable.”

Ambiguity is the enemy of productivity so it’s very important that as a manager you are clear with your deadlines and meeting action items, or, that as an employee you’re asking your manager for a specific due date to avoid confusion.

2. Break down the project

A really great approach to tackle deadlines is to break down big projects into different milestones and action items. When you break it down into smaller tasks, you’re going to gain a stronger idea of how much time you need to complete each task and gauge if you’ll be able to meet the initial deadline set.

“Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” – Henry Ford

If you realize there’s no way you’re going to hit the due date on time, be sure to raise this ASAP. Either you’ll get more time, or a little support, which are both positive solutions.