Time flies when you’re having fun. But it goes twice the speed of sound when you’ve got a deadline. We’ve all been there and done that. You’re working on something that’s due at the end of the week. Suddenly it’s Thursday morning and you’re only halfway done.

The heart rate increases. Breathing accelerates. There is that sinking feeling as that little voice in your head starts say, “There is no way you’re going to pull this one off!” Maybe you call in reinforcements, maybe you beg for an extension or just take one (“I set the deadline, so I can change it”), or maybe you relive your college days and pull and all-nighter.

This is the point where you expect me to offer some words of wisdom. Give you ideas on how to be more efficient or do better planning. Ah, yeah, sorry…if that’s what you’re looking for you are looking in the wrong place. There are lots of websites and blogs and web articles that will give you ideas on how to get organized, productive and efficient. Perhaps you’re a regular visitor to these sites.

Nah, I’m not here to tell you how do better. I’m here to tell you, sometimes, it happens. Life happens to the best of us. We get behind. We have panic attacks when we realize that whooshing sound is the deadline racing past. It happens. If it happens all the time, you may want to start checking out those links up there. If it happens once and a while…the universe conspires against you to get in your way and prevent you from getting something done…then do you’re best to fix it and move on. Sometimes it’s how we handle the not so good stuff that sets us apart from others, not how well we handle the good stuff.

So I for one am willing to say to you, “If you’ve done the best you can, then that’s the best you could have done.” Don’t kick yourself too hard. Take a breath (eat some chocolate if you’ve got it) and get back in there.

I would love to hear from you about deadlines you’ve missed and how you “fixed” the situation. You’ve got to have some good stories out there….Let’s hear them!