Deadline is a word that always pushes my heart to maximum velocity. “Dead” conveys severe penalties, perhaps ultimate ones. “Line,” an invisible mark of  digital clocks that if watched click, click, click away the day, the week, the . . .  I’ve made my point. The problem is most of our lives are controlled by this word. I’m thinking “taxes” at the moment.

Writers work on deadlines all the time: submissions, revisions, galleys, contests, conferences, blog posts. Then there’s the “other part of life:” family birthdays, home maintenance, groceries, hair. Last year with my debut novel, my calendar looked a lot like a strategic plan for war. I think I’ll frame it to read in my retirement years.

This year I’ve tired to think about reorganizing just enough to slow my heart rate and still blow dry my hair when necessary. Here’s my plan: Internet-blog twice a week on my own blog, then post on fb, do Connect here as promised on lucky 13 every month, post twice a month on Verla Kay and 2009 Debs as long as there’s posting happening, Twitter on Fridays and Sunday afternoons.  Events-do two a month and that includes anything for my book. Other life-Yoga three times a week, hike two times a week, weights two times a week, graze during the week, dine on the weekends, hire a housekeeper.

Most of the people I talk to have the same feeling about the speed of time and trying to meet the deadlines in their lives. How about you? How do you feel about deadlines? Do they scare you or motivate you? Do you have enough time to do all that you need or want to do?

Here’s something that I found interesting when I was thinking about not having the time I need to fit everything in. In 1620 it took 101 days for the Pilgrims to sail from England to Plymouth, Mass. It takes 7.25 hours to fly from London to Boston today. With those facts in mind, I should have no problem meeting any deadline. I should have much more “free” time since it take much less time to do anything with all of our modern conveniences, like this computer for example.  Anyone find this humorous?

About The Author

A native Californian, C. Lee McKenzie has always been a writer, but to eat and make contributions to children's college funds, she's also been a university lecturer and administrator. Lee's written and published non-fiction articles, both in her field of Linguistics and Inter-cultural Communication, and in general readership magazines. For five years Lee wrote, edited, and published a newsletter for U.S. university professors who were managing global classroom issues.  Read more about C. Lee McKenzie.

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