Page 41 - December 2020 Voices
P. 41
May I Borrow Your Deadline?
James Wantz, DTM
finished. I have several projects around my new and projects - and willingly set my own projects
house that need to be done. All of these “projects” aside. I fill my days with work because that is
have one important thing in common - no teethy what I am expected to do - it is the agreement
deadlines. There are no consequences when I with my employer and how I get paid. But I
don’t make progress on them, and so I don’t make don’t need to do this in all the other areas of my
progress on them. I go home and sit in front of life. I need to prioritize my projects with teethy
my TV to play Cyberpunk 2077 on PlayStation deadlines and begin saying NO to other people’s
instead. Oh, there are lots of deadlines in the projects. The conundrum here is that several of
games I play. That’s how the gaming companies the projects I’ve taken on have stretched me in
get players to stay logged in. I devote hours upon ways that I was uncomfortable with but learned
hours of my day to video games. much by doing. However, I have life goals that
Now I must find a way to introduce teethy I want to accomplish that aren’t getting done.
deadlines in the other areas of my life...and that That is where I need to borrow a deadline. Got
is where I am stuck. I think I need to borrow one to spare?
a metaphorical scale and start weighing the How about you? What do you want to
importance of all that I am doing to find out what accomplish in the next year? What have you
I can set aside. I need to do this because other been avoiding (whether on purpose or because
people see me as a hard worker and keep giving of being distracted) this last year? This year I am
ME more work to do. I get deadlines foisted on going to contact my writing mentor and put some
me for projects that aren’t even mine! This is teeth into the deadlines for finishing my book!
where I need to learn one more unbelievably Oh, and finish a couple Paths too while I’m at it.
valuable skill - the ability to say NO.
Problem is, I feel guilty when I say ‘no’ to
someone that is asking for my help. I feel like it is
my obligation to help them with their problems
VOICES! | DECEMBER 2020 41
