The delights of deadlines
A friend to procrastinators, an enemy to prattlers, a necessity for managers.
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Deadlines are critical to every organisation. They are an antidote to procrastination. They deal with the problem of diminishing returns.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PEXELS
The Economist
The connection between deadlines and journalism is obvious: This column would never have been written without one. But deadlines are critical to every organisation. They are an antidote to procrastination. They deal with the problem of diminishing returns. And they set the rhythm of a workplace, coordinating the activities of many teams and individuals.
First, procrastination. The tendency to put things off for no good reason is a fundamental part of the human condition. Hesiod, an ancient Greek poet, warned that idlers were liable never to fill their barns.
