Deadlines - The Key to Getting Things Done

Management Matter$ with Mathura #2

During my time managing Ascendance and now leading Simply Empowering, I’ve noticed one consistent pattern: when there’s no clear deadline, tasks almost always get delayed.

For example, in Ascendance, when we didn’t set deadlines for specific tasks in the Outreach Program, things kept getting delayed. Without clear accountability on who was in charge and who was delaying the task, the whole team felt lost and confused. It wasn’t that people weren’t working—it was that without a firm deadline, no one had a clear sense of urgency or ownership. The result? Tasks that should have taken days stretched into weeks.

To fix this, we worked out a process. As a leader, sometimes you have to be the one to determine when something needs to be completed. No one else will hold you accountable. So, I started setting challenging but achievable deadlines for myself and the team.

• Finding X number of schools by Friday

• Preparing materials and sending them for print by Sunday

These deadlines gave us a clear finish line, creating both urgency and accountability. Instead of vague plans, we had specific goals with firm timelines. And that made all the difference.

At first, there were some complaints—most people are trained to see deadlines as an inconvenience rather than a tool for success. But that’s when I started having conversations with the team to shift their mindset. Instead of seeing deadlines as pressure, I encouraged them to view them as a catalyst to spark creativity and problem-solving. Once they started embracing deadlines as a way to focus their energy, tasks became more structured, and execution became smoother.

A recent aha! moment came for me personally when I was working on our new initiative, Ascendance US. My teammate set specific deadlines for my tasks, and I realized that until there was a clear deadline, I was floating—other tasks with fixed deadlines or higher urgency kept taking precedence. But once I had a deadline assigned, my mindset shifted from “I’ll get to it” to “How can I get this done by this time?” That shift enabled me to come up with better solutions and get the task completed efficiently.

Final Takeaway

Managers must be proactive in setting deadlines—if they don’t, they are setting their team up for failure. It’s essential to reframe deadlines as a tool for efficiency and progress, rather than a burden. Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Without a set deadline, tasks tend to take longer than necessary. When time is limited, people become more efficient and focus on what truly matters.

However, a deadline should be a motivator, not a weapon. Some managers unintentionally demoralize their teams by setting unrealistic deadlines, often based on their own capabilities rather than their team’s. The key is to establish deadlines that stretch people’s abilities but remain achievable, avoiding burnout while driving productivity.

This is where The Goldilocks Principle comes in—deadlines should be challenging but reasonable. Too tight, and the team feels overwhelmed. Too loose, and productivity drops. The right deadline creates momentum without unnecessary stress.

When used effectively, deadlines don’t just ensure work gets done—they empower teams to push their limits and achieve more than they thought possible.