Back on Track After Missing a Deadline: Recovering From Discouragement With Hope
“The trials that seem to defy our hope and ruin the very foundations of all patience are meant, by the Spirit of God, to make our hope more and more perfect, basing it entirely in God, removing every visible support that can be found in this world. For a hope that rests on temporal power or temporal happiness is not theological. It is merely human, and has no supernatural strength to give us” (Father Thomas Merton, OCSO).
I missed my deadline for this article. In fact, I missed it several times over.
I take pride in being someone who can deliver high-quality results in a pinch. I can be scrappy, and I have a knack for pushing through the doubt and distraction to just do the thing. But lately, that hasn’t been the case. In several areas of my work and life, it feels as though I’m always just a bit behind, never able to completely catch up. It’s been discouraging — and, frankly, it’s been hard not to sit and stay in that place of discouragement.
But with the dawning of the Easter season, I’m reminded that the Lord can (and does) make all things new. Mercifully, He can redeem even my workplace woes, turning my missed deadlines into learning opportunities and my discouragement into delight!
This Easter season, consider with me — especially if you are in a place of discouragement — a few practical strategies to help you rally after missing a deadline and how to move forward with a spirit of resurrection hope.
6 Ways to Get Back on Track After Missing a Deadline
When you miss a deadline, here are a few things to help get you back on track:
1. Own It
So often, a missed deadline can overwhelm us with big feelings of fear and anxiety. Push past the dread, and tell the truth about the situation. Inform your manager or boss that you’re behind, and then be proactive in mapping out a realistic revised timeline for completion. Putting in the legwork for this step will set you on more solid footing moving forward and give your boss reassurance that you understand the gravity of the situation.
2. Clear the Clutter
I love a good brain dump, and sometimes, it’s just what we need in order to free up enough mental and emotional space to focus on the task at hand. On a blank piece of paper, write down all the thoughts, feelings, and tasks that are fresh on your mind. Consider dedicating one side of the page for everything unrelated to the task at hand and the other side for all project-related thoughts.
Sometimes, there’s not enough time to do this step for all the things, but at least do it for your pressing project. Having everything laid out on paper will help you set aside those tasks that can wait and hone in on what you actually need to do to accomplish the task.
3. Do the Work
Now, it’s time to focus in and hammer it out. If you’re prone to distraction or don’t want a task to take too much of your day, consider using a time management technique such as the Pomodoro method. I find that setting a timer gives me the little bit of competitive energy I need to perform: Can I write this piece in an hour? Yes; let’s do it!
Plus, taking a little break after a stretch of work time helps make a challenging task seem more bearable. Ultimately, when I’m in “the zone,” I’m often amazed at how long a task doesn’t take me. I find that I spent more time dreading it than doing it.
4. Deliver
After missing a deadline, try to deliver your work with an attitude of gratitude. First, thank your manager or team for their flexibility and for trusting you to make it right. Then, find something to be thankful for in the work itself. Even if (and especially if) this project was challenging, find something — the gift of employment, the opportunity to refine your skills, your sense of accomplishment for completing the project — anything to be sincerely thankful for. This gratitude will help you learn from the experience and be more willing to engage with the project again when it (inevitably) comes back to you ...
5. Stay Curious, Flexible and Available
It can be tempting to shove a difficult project “out the door” and wash your hands of it, but it’s likely to come back to you in some form or fashion. It may need revisions, or you’ll need it to inform future work. Shunning it now will only lead to more stress in the future.
Instead, while it’s fresh (maybe give it a day), take note of its virtues, successes (yes, every project has them), and failures, and use them as reference points for future projects.
6. Ask for — and Accept — Help if You Need It
Sometimes, the reality is that you can’t deliver on your own. For example, I recently had to revise a proposal concept statement four times. Each time, I thought I’d nailed it, but each time, I found out I missed the mark. The barrage of “not quites” started to affect my confidence and my ability to deliver. I became so distracted by my disappointment (and, let’s face it, third trimester pregnancy brain) that I was unable to find enthusiasm for the project.
What ultimately helped infuse life back into this project was a fresh perspective: Another team member stepped in and offered some wonderful ideas. Contrary to my thoughts of jealousy and discouragement in the moment, letting others step in and shine is a testimony to the communal nature of our faith. We are many parts but one body. Knowing that we need others can be countercultural, especially in a competitive workplace. While we each have so much to offer, knowing our limits can be just as beautiful.
Moving Forward in Hope and Joy
As St. Pope John Paul II said, “We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.” The resurrection equips us with an overwhelming joy that can (and should) extend into the workplace. Because of the resurrection, and through the gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is available to us, even in our sufferings and failings. That charismatic man whom the disciples came to know and love is the same merciful Lord and savior who walks — and works — alongside us today.
After a missed deadline, or in the midst of any hardship at work or in life, we can accept the restoration and redemption Christ invites us into when we offer him our worries and weaknesses. Where we are small, He is all. And, with His help, we can begin again.
No matter how overwhelming the feelings of dread and disappointment are — or, more soberly, how deep the ramifications of your missed deadline are — Christ can redeem this situation. He has overcome, and He will help you overcome (and grow from) this setback, too.
Tara Wright is an artist, Marine wife, and happy Catholic. By day, Tara creates content for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit force behind the beloved children’s show “Sesame Street.” She is the owner of Tara Wright Illustration, where she specializes in custom art and illustration, and is co-founder of Scatter and Sow. After spending several years in New York City and Fredericksburg, Virginia, Tara and her family are currently back home in Oklahoma, riding out the pandemic closer to family.