On Deadlines and Hemlines

Douglas Adams is known for saying, "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." I'm fond of deadlines for a different reason; namely, I work much more productively when the work is due in five minutes.

In thinking about this, though, I am curious as to the source of my newfound productivity. The initially somewhat satisfying explanation is the rising pressure makes the assignment rise in importance, allowing it to take priority over otherwise more interesting distractions. As a pleasure (or utility) maximizing individual, this makes sense. When a project doesn't become due for two months, the present value to me of having it completed is very small. This must due to a discount factor, some combination of uncertainty (I'll have plenty of opportunities to do the work between now and then) and the time value of leisure. When I fail a class or lose a job if the memo isn't on someone's desk in two hours, the utility gained from completing is more immediate, tangible, and certain, and therefore higher.

However, an alternative explanation presents itself, one that I propose with some shame. Rather than the actual quality of my work increasing as the deadline draws near, it is possible, perhaps even likely that it is only the perceived quality of my work that increases. That is, once it becomes clear that I will suffer great loss if I do not do the work, the standards for the work I turn in drop dramatically. Good Work gives way to Good Enough Work and I feel better for simply having turned something in.

I become more uncomfortable (personally, not empirically) with this explanation when I investigate parallels in relationships. Anecdotally, I've noticed that as people approach a "good" time to get married or engaged (the end of college, the end of law school, the end of fertility), they tend to find themselves in marriageable relationships. Is this is a function of heightened cognitive/emotional ability - a better sense of what one is looking for in a relationship - or a relaxing of standards as a deadline approaches? I'll leave that question for the reader.