Word of The Day: Vague Deadline
08.14.07 by
Peter
vague dead.line [vāg dêd’lîn]
noun
- An unclear time limit. Often implemented with the intent of relaxing time boundaries only to produce an impending sense of doom.
- A clearly stated deadline that has been utterly ignored and therefor requires de-emphasis. Usage: “Yeah, we figured 3pm sharp was a vague deadline and that it would be OK to get it to you at 6pm tomorrow.”
lol…#2 is funny.
Meeting deadlines is essential to success. It can throw everything off and cause major chaos. That’s definitely not a fun situation.
Funny post. I hope one day we return to this blog entry and get the same kind of feelings of running into a really bad ex at an amusement park. It won’t spoil the day or anything, you’ll just thank yourself for making the necessary adjustments to your living situation. It’s so true though, “vague deadlines” are usually codespeak for either a) opportunities to procrastinate, b) lack of project direction, c) yes honey, I will be up all night, or d) all of the above. On the other hand, the best projects I’ve worked on so far have been vague from the creative standpoint, but rigid in terms of timeline management.
Vague deadlines are probably my biggest pet peeve as a production- and detail-oriented designer! If you’re a client or employer of mine, the worst thing you can do for our relationship (and my general respect for you as a professional) is to be non-specific about when you need it done! Because my not being able to put your job ‘in the queue’ along with the rest of my ever-growing list of to-do’s means now I’ve got a ‘loose cannon’ job wreaking havoc with my workflow…and your time.
Definitely not a good way to endear yourself to others–OR to ensure that your job will be tended to in an organized, timely manner…
Terry, we couldn’t agree more strongly! We posted this to make light of exactly that frustration.
-p