It’s only the third week of my newsletter and already I have faltered. You see, this newsletter is supposed to be published every Tuesday. And today’s Wednesday. Welp!

Now since it’s only the third week, maybe it’s not such a big deal if I missed publishing by a day. It’s not like people are waiting with bated breath for an amateur author’s latest musing to hit their inbox (well, LinkedIn notification window, but you get my point). In fact, no one would have even made the connection yet that these are published every Tuesday. Hell, the description only says “weekly,” nowhere does it specify which day of the week. No one apart from me knows that Tuesday is the publishing deadline for this.

But you see, deadlines are tricky that way. If you set them, they will haunt you. If you don’t, there’s nothing holding you accountable to do things on time.

And it’s better to be haunted than to keep falling off the wagon!

What’s the ETA on This?

This question plagues every working professional, but more so marketers. Because there can be a lot of moving parts and dependencies in the marketing ecosystem. So even when we set the deadlines ourselves, we are at a risk of missing it.

In fact, finalizing on the timelines for any marketing asset can actually be split into three parts:

• The final, approved content
• The design of said content
• Publishing or distribution

What date to put in the timeline section of our trackers, then? That’s a tough one. As a content marketer, I can only control when the final content is ready. I can push the design team, I can push the development teams, but ultimately when we get the output from them is not in our hands. And that can be frustrating.

But then, does it mean that I never miss the content output deadlines? NO! A BIG NO!!

What to Expect When You’re Not Meeting Expected Timelines

Let’s face it – everyone makes mistakes. And missing deadlines, especially the ones you set for yourself, is not entirely a mistake but more like a misstep we often end up taking. Why? The reasons could be many:

• Poor time management
• Too much on your plate
• Lack of focus
• Writer’s block
• No motivation
• Failure to delegate
• Limited resources

These, and many more, could be the roadblock to meeting your deadlines. It’s important to identify the top reasons why we end up missing deadlines. If you don’t know the cause, you can’t rectify it!

But understanding the cause is only part of the solution. And as someone who has been struggling a lot with deadlines off lately, I need to step up my game and get to the next part: Course correction!

The question remains: How?

I have been trying to find the answer to this myself, and I think I finally have a modicum of an idea on how to go about it.

1. Don’t Get Too Worked Up

Don’t be too hard on yourself and accept that missing a deadline is not the end of the world. More often than not we get caught up in feeling bad about the delayed task rather than dusting ourselves off and getting started on the said task.

2. Stop the Blame Game

It’s very easy to do this in marketing – oh I did not get the approval on time, no one shared a proper brief, the designer isn’t available, and so on. But we need to take ownership of our tasks. If the job calls for following up relentlessly with other stakeholders, just do it!

3. Own Up to Your Missteps

Everyone in the entire professional world has missed a deadline or two. They know what it feels like, and they are more likely than not to understand why it can happen. Be honest when you can’t deliver tasks on your committed timelines and ask for an extension.

4. Prioritize Your Tasks

When everything is important, nothing is. It is very easy to get tangled in a web of never-ending tasks, all of which are extremely important to their respective stakeholders. The best thing is to define boundaries. The second best? Make a priority list and stick to it without any distractions.

5. Make a Daily To-do List

Each day, you will be bombarded with new things that need to be done but block some time on your calendar to knock off 2-3 items from your to-do list. Identify them beforehand and make it a point to finish them off instead of getting sucked into any different tasks.

Of course, like everything else in life, this is easier said than done. Getting back on track after missing quite a few deadlines is not an easy task. But cut yourself some slack, keep your chin up, and soldier on. Afterall, everything works itself out if you just give it a little time. Add some effort into it, and see the magic happen!