How to Deal With Unreasonable Deadlines at Work

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Keeping your eyes open and talking to other people at work, as well as making full use of the available resources, will help you meet deadlines more easily. Additionally, keeping your manager in the loop will allow you to demonstrate all the time and hard work you put into a project. We recently posted a guide http://academy.justjobs.com/live-by-your-bosss-priorities that discusses how to manage priorities at work, and how to deal with distractions your manager might come up with.

Erich Lagasse of TX 6:56PM January 12, 2012

There is no good way to deal with a turd nugget moron on a power trip who wants everything done by tomorrow morning. The only thing you can do is your best. Don't be afraid to tell them that their deadline is impossible, how else will they learn? If they keep asking for impossible deadlines then they are only setting themselves up for failure, so you would be helping them by asking them why it took so long for them to get the project details to you.

chris of IA 12:34PM January 08, 2012

Alison, great tips. I like your second option to break down the problem differently. I work at an HR software company and we really try to help our clients look at their existing workload and think about tackling problems in a new way. We all face crazy pressures at work. I try to offer ideas and suggest ways that social media and software can really enable solutions instead of adding another complex layer to an already difficult problem.

Desiree Porcaro, Ultimate Software of FL 12:30PM October 14, 2011

In reference to number 6 - I work at a company that consistently has difficult deadlines to meet - competing projects for the same department where everything is 'important.' When they bring a project to me and I talk to them about what is reasonable and when I will need certain pieces, I get a lot of nods at the time and then I have to chase them for the pieces and then everything is rushed. The problem is (among other things), the department head is a perfectionist and always wants to make many changes once a draft has been presented and it's always on these short deadlines. I'm not the only one struggling with this. How can I help focus attention and get the timelines on track? Is it a lost cause?

Karen of MA 7:12AM October 13, 2011