Episode 148 - Listen To This If… You’re Facing A Big Deadline

Transcript

Jen (00:00:09)

Hello, hello. You have tuned in to an episode of Listen to This If, which is where we, the team from Let's Talk SciComm, Jen and Michael, we talk about one issue that you might currently be grappling with in the world of science communication.

And I think today we've chosen something that probably everyone in the world grapples with at some point Michael and is certainly close to our recent experiences. What do you do when you're facing a really big deadline?

Michael (00:00:37)

Hmm, yeah. And if you've just tuned in because you are facing a big deadline, we empathise with you.

Jen (00:00:44)

Oh my gosh, yes.

Michael (00:00:45)

I know what it feels like to have a big task, a big deadline, and you know, to struggle with it, right? Because procrastination is a real issue for a lot of people, like me included.

Jen (00:00:57)

Hear, hear. Me three, me four.

Michael (00:01:02)

You know, and you have this big deadline and you end up being really eager to tidy your bedroom to, you know, reorganise your desk, to just kind of look up random facts.

I feel like something that's helped me is reframing it. So rather than thinking about it as like a scheduling issue or a time management issue which of course it is, I like to think about it as like an emotional issue. Is it...? What does it make me feel when I think about working on that big task? And am I avoiding that feeling?

And I guess it's just about trying to get comfortable with working on the task when you feel like you're not ready to work on the task and just making some progress. And I really stand by the motto of don't let perfection get in the way of excellence.

So really it's just about making progress. And as long as you're chipping away at the task, I think that's the most important thing to you know, getting it done. Yeah.

Like a thesis, for example, they say "the best thesis is a done thesis". So just chipping away at it and just thinking about, you know, is it avoidance? Am I avoiding an uncomfortable feeling? And can I lean into that and actually just get used to starting on the task and making some kind of progress, even though I feel like I'm not ready.

You know, rather than reaching for, you know, organisation apps or the next shiny thing that's going to help you like be really efficient with your time, I feel like we just have to get comfortable working on the task when we don't feel like doing it. And it's easier said than done, right? I don't always follow that advice.

Jen (00:03:05)

No, but I think it is great advice and recognising that if you are struggling with the task then there's a reason for that. And recognising that discomfort and facing into it I think is good.

I think I'd add to that Michael [of] being kind to yourself, in the sense that I don't think I've ever had a big task that I've truly started early enough that I'm working on early enough that I haven't at some point been really cross with myself and said, Like, why do you let yourself get into this situation again? How have you let this happen? You knew it was a big deadline. You knew it was a big task. You knew if you'd started working on it, you know, X number of hours or weeks or months earlier, it would have been better.

But the point is there's almost never enough time. You know, you will always fill the time available. So just that forgiveness and that kindness to say Look, I've been doing my best and things always take longer than you expect and it's okay, I'm just going to keep persevering. And as you say, there's no such thing as perfection, just making progress.

And I think for me the other thing I would say is not losing sight of the importance of the basics. So when I have big deadlines, I try really hard still to get at least a decent amount of sleep, if not as much sleep as I might have for the rest of the time. I definitely still exercise.

As much as a sweet chocolate treat is something that I know you and I both turn to when we've got big tasks... That's fine, treats are great. But also continuing to eat nutritious food and making sure I'm drinking enough water and just trying to keep focus on those basics and not giving up all of that I think is really important.

But as you say, just any sort of progress is good progress. Just keep at it and know that you're going to get there. You're going to get there in some way, shape, or form.

Michael (00:04:49)

Yeah. And, you know, I do like the idea of exercise and eating healthy. And, you know, when I had a big marking task recently, I've had this nice routine of marking an assignment, doing five pushups, marking an assignment, eating a mini chocolate Easter egg.

But why don't we make that a grape? Let's be, you know, more healthy about it. I think, yeah, breaking it up as well can be really helpful with healthy activities.

Jen (00:05:17)

Yeah. So look, good luck everybody. Michael and I have both recently been grappling with some very big deadlines. It's been a lot of stress. It's been a lot of last minute agonising over why didn't I do this a month ago?

So you have our empathy. But keep at it. You can do this. And yeah, progress over perfection.

Michael (00:05:35)

Yeah. And be kind to yourself and you can do it!

Jen (00:05:39)

You can!

Michael (00:05:53)

Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed the episode, we'd love you to tell a friend about the podcast or leave us a review. And you can reach out to us on social media.

And we're very excited to announce that we're launching a new newsletter called the ChitChat. Check out the link in the show notes or our posts on Instagram.

And also a big thank you to our production team, Steven Tang and Madeleine Kelly.