Unachieved Goals in the 11th Hour
You set a deadline and you’ve worked your ass off day in and day out. You’ve remained positive and you’ve jumped over and busted through any obstacles that stood in your way, but still, time is not on your side and it looks like you aren’t going to achieve your goal before the timer that you created is up.
This feeling is extremely frustrating and causes many people to fail.
So what can you do when it turns to the 11th hour and it feels like time is up?
Create a new deadline
Give yourself a fresh start and created a new deadline. It’s not glamorous to keep pushing and overcoming obstacles especially when you’re tired from the long journey you’ve already traveled, but it’s better to be late than to never show up at all.
Make a new, shorter deadline
You may be thinking; “Huh? I didn’t even achieve the goal in time for my first deadline, so why would I make this new deadline even shorter?”
The reasoning behind creating a shorter deadline is because people often come up with deadlines that are too long.
When this happens, they become complacent. Too much time allows them to put off action until later. You will hear these people utter words like; “no rush,” “ah, I’ll do it later or tomorrow,” and “when I get some more time.” And yet, before they know it, their deadline is up and they haven’t achieved anything at all.
A shorter deadline may be the thing you need to keep you on your toes and moving forward.
Recognize that the 11th hour is an obstacle itself
When you haven’t achieved your goals and the 11th hour strikes, the 11th hour itself morphs into an obstacle that is actually there to test your endurance, your passion, your attitude, and you; and in the long run it’s there to help you. So may be time really is on your side, it’s just giving you some tough love.
Remember that the 11th hour is a proving ground for those who refuse to give up and a wasteland for those who are too weak.
Photo by stevendepolo
6 Responses to “Unachieved Goals in the 11th Hour”
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Hey Angrew, thanks for this post. I totally agree with you when it comes to shortening deadlines. When people have long deadlines, there is no sense of urgency to get them to take immediate action, which will just cause for more delay.
Hey Tristan,
Glad you liked this post!
Yeah, it’s important not to make a goal deadline too short but it’s also important not to make it too long. You need to find a balance.
-Andrew
Hey Andrew,
You hit the nail head on!
I think setting deadlines is SO important! I learned about it initially form The Four Hour Work Week where Tim Ferriss writes about both Parkinson’s Law and the 80/20 principle.
I truly believe that by setting an aggressive deadline for yourself causes you to hustle harder and creates that sense of immediacy and urgency to plow through all self-doubt and obstacles.
I usually go about writing my “3 Most Important Tasks” on my PocketMod (www.pocketmod.com) and set a timed deadline as to when I will finish it that day. I feel that the process is a lot more organic and the process of actually putting pen to paper makes me more committed.
Hi Will,
Happy you liked this post!
It’s really about setting a deadline that is realistic but also a bit “unrealistic” so that it pushes you.
And you’re absolutely right, putting pen to paper makes things so much more concrete.
-Andrew
:O Point 3… what an eye opener :O
Pretty motivating as I study for the first set of exams!
Glad you liked it. Best wishes with your exams!
-Andrew