Deadlines should be more motivational and less stressful, not the other way around. Unless a deadline can bring the best out of you within the stipulated time, it’s of no use. Therefore, you need to be careful while setting up a deadline for a project in the first place.
Continue reading this article to know how you can create a deadline to which you can stick to.
1. Consider Goals and Guidelines of the Project
If you're to create a deadline for a project you or your team is working on, you need to be clear of the project goals. Apart from the broad objectives, there should also be some specific guidelines.
Consider all these to understand the estimated completion time while adhering to the rules and regulations. Also, make sure everyone is aware of the guidelines and objectives of a collaborative object before starting on a project.
2. Break the Task Into Smaller Units or Subtasks
To create a deadline for a project, you need to break that down into multiple smaller chunks. These smaller portions are also known as tasks and subtasks. Later, create separate deadlines for each smallest task unit.
Also, consider task dependencies before setting the final deadline for the whole project. Put the deadline for the independent tasks earlier and the dependent tasks later.
Explain the dependencies to the teammates. Thus, they’ll understand the reason behind different deadlines for individual tasks.
3. Take Sufficient Time to Create a Deadline
Setting a project deadline is no less important than the other tasks involved in it. Hence, never rush to make a deadline. It may unknowingly force you to create an unrealistic one that you’re bound to miss.
Always take sufficient time when you finalize a due date. Make sure you don’t miss any crucial points of consideration while in a hurry.
4. Consider Possible Reasons for Project Delay
Project delays have become quite commonplace these days. Almost all teams have a record of submitting projects past the due date. If the same happened to your team as well, find out the reason behind a project delay.
If an unrealistic deadline caused the project delay last time, have a more liberal deadline for your next project. In case of any other reasons, set up a deadline when you have enough time to fix that problem if it happens again.
If you have no direct experience of project delay, consider the common possible causes and set a deadline to avoid them all.
5. Watch Out for Conflicting Priorities
In this competitive world, most people work on multiple projects at the same time. These conflicting priorities can make your deadlines unachievable. To avoid that, check out the working bandwidth of each team member till the deadline of your project.
After taking into account the priorities of each project member, you can come up with a viable deadline. You may need to remove some members from a project and recruit new people to finish the project within the estimated time provided by the client.
6. Get Opinion From Stakeholders
A successful project requires a collaborative effort from everyone involved, including the third-party vendors. It's not pleasing to find out in the middle of the project that one of your vital resources is unavailable due to vacation.
That’s why you must get opinions from every stakeholder of the project about the deadline. Set a tentative due date and ask if they find the deadline reasonable in comparison to their workload and priorities. You may have multiple meetings with your client as well before finalizing a deadline.
7. Know Your Ideal Stress Level
You have to agree that an ideal amount of stress always works as motivation. Hence, when we say deadlines shouldn't be stressful, it doesn’t mean removing urgency altogether. Every deadline you create should include a moderate level of stress. It'll mentally arouse or inspire you to complete the work.
The ideal stress level varies depending on the person and task difficulty. So, set a deadline considering the right stress level that not only lets you timely complete the task, but also brings the best out of you.
8. Allocate Extra Time for Scope Change
Whether you’re working for a client or on an internal project for your organization, scope changes can happen. Since it’s not possible to predict a scope creep, it’s better to have some time in hand for it while scheduling a deadline.
A team can face scope change for the project at any point of progress. Therefore, keep some time in hand for scope adjustment while creating a due date. You can also explain to your client that you have adjusted some extra time for this particular purpose.
9. Stay Prepared for Last-Minute Issues
Nobody wants to miss a deadline. Hence, consider every possibility that can cause a delay in your project, including last-minute issues. Sometimes, teammates may wait till the last day to finish the assigned task.
On the last day, there might be an emergency—someone might fall sick or have trouble with their computer or internet connection. To avoid such avoidable issues, create a soft deadline one or two days before the original deadline.
When everyone submits their work ahead of the deadline, the project submission can take place in time. If someone misses the soft deadline, you can delegate the task to complete it within the due date. It’ll save you from unexpected project delays.
10. Keep the Deadline Achievable
Once you have considered all the above factors, you should come up with an achievable deadline. After finalizing the teammates and having a complete idea about their availability and priorities, you should seamlessly fix a due date that everyone is comfortable with.
If you have any doubt, you should directly ask your colleagues to clarify. Project management tools can help you keep track of project progress and resource availabilities if you need to reschedule.
Finish Tasks Before Deadline
Only an achievable deadline can make sure you can complete the task within the due date.
Remember to follow the tips outlined in this article while creating a deadline to make it realistic. You can also get your project back on track in case of any unexpected circumstances.