Deadlines (the word 'dead' is in there for a reason)

Having just read Karina's post about her impending thesis deadline of doom, and Robyn's comment on my last post about the completion scholarship (which my supervisors and I have already decided we aren't touching with a ten-foot pole, even a metaphorical one) I thought I'd ramble for a bit on why I hate deadlines.

I hate deadlines. Useful, maybe; neccessary, maybe; hell to live with - yes. Deadlines either send me into crazy tunnel-visioned focus where the house becomes a pigsty, I live off Mars Bars, chips and waaaaaay too much caffiene (motto 'if your hands aren't shaking, you haven't had enough') and anyone unfortunate enough to attempt to interact with me gets snarled at. At the other extreme, I go into extreme deadline denial - which equals procrastination at a black belt level - until there's no way I can meet the deadline.

So how do I manage to get things done if deadlines don't really work for me? I have been know to submit articles and abstracts on or before due dates, can get marking done on time etc. I think the key is breaking down the task into smaller components and setting 'guideline' dates. ('Guideline' in the rather negotiable Pirates-of-the-Caribbean type sense). Even a false deadline before the real one, or promising to get the work to someone else to read over first before the deadline seems to help make the real deadline feel more manageable. For all that I have a bad Arts student habit of leaving things to the last minute, it is often lowering the pressure rather than raising it that works for me.