August/September 2005

Volume 46, Number 1

President's Corner

by Marella Colyvas, STCRMC President

As I contemplated the most recent changes in my life the other evening, I had to ask: Is it really me who is now leading a group of talented people who look to the STC RMC as a beacon of professionalism? Wow. I am honored to have been chosen to assist with this new birth, even if I do harbor the anxiety one feels before a first-ever jump out of an airplane, parachute attached!

Now as I write this article, the grim reality that I've just tripled the number of ever-present deadlines on which I have to act hits me squarely in the stomach. And, so do the feelings that inevitably come with deadlines - namely, fear and panic. I don't know about you, but sometimes I find deadlines totally paralyzing.

Then I began to wonder, am I alone in feeling totally panicked when faced with deadlines in my life? Is my reaction unrealistic? After all, I'm a technical communicator and used to facing deadlines of all kinds in the professional world. So I embarked on a very unscientific, but interesting, survey. I polled four members of our community about deadlines and found that people meet the reality of deadlines with two distinct attitudes.

The first is that deadlines motivate and fuel action. The second is that deadlines foster anxiety, fear, and a sense of being overwhelmed.

These two attitude groups are not mutually exclusive. Before the overwhelming boiling point happens, people generally use the deadlines as motivators (after they scream!). But when they get "dumped on, " even by themselves, they feel the anxiety and sometimes paralysis that precludes the fear of not being able to perform.

When faced with the situation that overwhelms, people's actions are as follows. They:

1. Figure out where in their calendar they can free up the time to accomplish the task.
2. Prioritize other tasks.
3. Work on the task a little bit at a time.
4. Recognize that they will feel extremely good when the task is complete. Do
5. whatever it takes to make it work.

OK, this last item is one that we all inevitably do. But what is the cost? In my survey I found that people do the following:

• Take frustration and anger out on others who are not involved.
• Let their family and personal life suffer.
• Lose sleep.

We didn't have much of a chance to discuss these actions, but we all agreed they are not optimal. Although we really can't do anything about the deadlines, I propose we can change what happens to us inside when we are faced with them.

It is a known psychological fact that it takes tremendous energy to worry about something—far more than it takes to work the problem. But to stop the worrying, first you have to free up the energy the worry is sapping. You have to first give yourself permission to acknowledge the fact that you do feel overwhelmed. Here's what works for me:

1. I go somewhere where I am completely alone, usually my own house or outside.
2. I scream at the sky or pound a pillow and yell that these deadlines are just not fair!
3. I take 15 minutes to breathe deeply and clear my mind.
4. I visualize the projects and pick the one that has the highest priority.
5. Then I go into my office and get started.

OK, before you think your STC president has gone off the deep end, just remember that I'm crazy enough to take on this volunteer job and its inevitable deadlines on top of my already busy life. (I'll let you all judge the sanity of that action as the year progresses! - < smile >)

By taking the informal survey and interacting with my fellow technical communicators, I found that I am not alone in my ambivalent feelings and behaviors around deadlines. Maybe with some practice, we can all learn methods that help each other. In fact, I invite you to contribute to my informal survey—how do YOU handle deadlines and the feelings that you have surrounding them?