Missing deadlines is a bad habit that’s easy to fall into, but it hurts your professional reputation. Here’s how to change it.
I’ll be the first one to admit that in certain areas of my life, I have fallen into a pattern of lateness. In fact, as I type these very words, this piece is late, and I can almost feel my editor’s fingers stretching toward her keyboard to send me an all-too-kind email, the heart of which will be, “Yo Kelsey, get your ish together!” Missing deadlines is upsetting, frustrating, moronic, inconsiderate . . . and all too easy. I remember the tipping point in college. It’s 4 a.m., you’re hustling to finish a paper for your 8 a.m. class, and as the effects of the 4-Hour Energy you took at midnight begin to fade, the thought creeps in: “What would actually happen if I didn’t turn this in on time?” Unfortunately, you quickly realize the answer is most likely nothing. At worse, you’re down half a letter grade, and we all know how vital grades are (HAHA).
