Deadlines are all about helping yourself. Deadlines are excuse-busters. Deadlines keep you on point and in focus. Well, that’s how I see them, anyway. Not everyone will agree, but I love deadlines. Both for work and for my personal side projects. They keep me in check. They keep me honest.

With any project, there’s one thing you can never have enough of — time.

Whether you’re building a data pipeline or playing with Lego, time is always against you. We struggle to manage time. When we think we have loads of it, we take our time. If it’s a work project, we try new things, tinker with this, tinker with that — we coast or look for perfection. If it’s for yourself with no hard deadline, you will never finish what you start.

That’s the truth.

Time is everything. On the flip side, when we have too little, we move fast, trip over ourselves, and cut corners trying to get things done. Simply put, we never make the most of time when we have it. It’s a constant balancing act. This is why I love deadlines. Whether you hit them or not, deadlines get you moving, planning, and building — they get you started. They eliminate the need for perfection. They keep you going.

The Enemy

Procrastination used to be my biggest enemy. I’d begin a project with plenty of time to get it done, but I’d procrastinate, spend far too much time messing around, and before I knew it, I was up against the clock and under pressure to get things done. I was my biggest enemy.

I foolishly used to believe that I worked better under pressure. Then I switched up the way I viewed deadlines. I planned, I learned, and I got a grip on the way I worked. Instead of viewing deadlines as stressful endpoints, I see them as challenges to rise to. I use them as tools to focus my energy and streamline the way I work.

I’ve come across many data people who have let procrastination take over. They are so unaware of why they never start a project, finish that book, or nail that certification, that they kick the can down the road, asking themselves why. But I easily see procrastination in everything they are doing.

If you look closely at the people around you, you will see it too. Procrastination is everywhere, and it likes to disguise itself as Netflix, social media, or just random scrolling on the internet.

It’s all around you!

Don’t let procrastination steal your goals. Make deadlines your friend. Hit those goals both personally and at work.

Here is how I plan and make deadlines work for me.

1. Break Down Projects into Manageable Tasks

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Any project can be broken down into bite-sized chunks.

Data Engineers need structure and a plan of action. In data, you cannot afford to bounce around like some kind of ping-pong ball hoping sh*t gets done. You need to get a grip.

You need to be systematic in your approach.

For me, I love getting the old paper and pen out (yes, a paper and pen) and drawing out my project end to end. Then I look at each step and break it down further into more manageable tasks — this is my guide, my road map.

I created an exhaustive list of all the steps I believe will need to happen.

Once my list of tasks is ready it’s time to prioritize.

2. Prioritize and Focus on Essential Tasks

The best part about list-making is I get a clear idea of the scope of the task ahead of me.

I get a feel for where I’m headed, and I can easily see which tasks are going to be “easy” and which tasks are going to take a fair bit of time to get through.

Time to prioritize and focus.

Most people go for the low-hanging fruit, the “easy” tasks. For me, I tackle the hard ones first (if I can). Those are the tasks that I know are going to cause me the biggest headache or will undoubtedly spawn unexpected surprises. I’d rather know about them sooner rather than later.

• Identifying your most critical tasks.
• Rank them from easy to hard.
• Hit the hard ones first.

Remember, not all parts of a project are equally important, so concentrate your efforts on the parts that will have the biggest impact. I know this isn’t always feasible, but in most cases, it works.

3. Iterate and Improve

Incremental improvement is where it’s at.

Not all projects are going to be smooth sailing. You’re going to run into issues and problems for sure. That’s just how life works sometimes.

This has happened to me many times throughout my career. All the times I’ve had to backtrack, rework, or rethink my approach from scratch have given me time to reflect on how to avoid these kinds of mishaps in the first place. A data engineer isn’t someone who doesn’t make any mistakes — we make mistakes, but we learn and improve. With experience, you will see problems coming from farther away than the newbie.

It just takes time to build up that know-how and experience.

Learn from your mistakes and use each project as an opportunity to refine your skills and approach. It took me ages to get this method of working down. It may not work for you, but find what does and iterate and improve it.

Soon enough, you will have a process that works for your style.

4. Adapt and Be Flexible

Most people don’t know what they want. This is especially true in business.

Be prepared (no, expect) for your projects to have the goal line shifted more than once. Projects can get paused or pushed forward. The scope can get revised and continuously adjusted — it is just the way it is sometimes.

If this happens, take it on the chin and just go with it. Data Engineering is about being flexible and adaptable in your approach. Remember you are there to serve. So, serve your stakeholders well.

It happened to me when I was asked to quickly build and implement extra functionality in addition to the main project scope. I didn’t grumble, I just got on with it.

Even projects that have been meticulously planned out can change. Change is just part of the game. Play the game well. Be flexible and adaptable.

The best data engineers are the ones who can make things happen even when the unexpected happens.

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