Deadline

Deadline

Umair Haque For people who work for themselves, the self-imposed deadline is a fact of life. Whether you're starting a business, writing a dissertation, or consulting for a dozen clients, paying attention only to your drop-dead dates would mean never meeting them. You obviously have to set up interim goals along the way.

But the art of self-scheduling is not unique to entrepreneurs and PhD students. It's one that I actively -- and successfully -- practiced for the two decades I spent working for other people. And it's now making my transition to freelance life a lot smoother. Here are the self-scheduling techniques that worked for me really well in the office -- and that remain the hallmarks of my working style out on the professional fringes:

1. Start your day as early as possible. Even if you're not a morning person, there's something intoxicating about planning to do A and B, and then discovering you've done A, B, and C by noon. Seeing C in the rearview mirror at lunch also makes D and E look a lot more inviting -- and Q not so far out of reach.

2. When it comes to small tasks, tackle similar ones back to back. That's what gets you on a roll. The mind thrives on repetition, at least to a point. Capitalize on what makes us crave the refrains of songs and makes "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" such a potent tale. Three, I must tell you, is a beautiful number. Three things done by noon is ecstasy.