On the Clock

 I used to crumble when given time based tasks.  I hated being put on a clock.  The knowledge that a finite amount of time was available to complete a specific task elevated the pressure to unacceptable levels.  This is why I hated taking tests in school.  It was also hard to find time to study before my exams because there were always so many. During the tests, I never felt that I had enough time to think through my answers, and because handwriting is one of the few things I do slowly, it was always a struggle just to complete a test even when I knew all of the answers.  Everything would be so much easier if it was based on a pass/fail system.  My permanent file has it wrong. It isn't that I'm incapable of learning, it's that I just wasn't given enough time with the material.

When there isn't a penalty for failing, I'm willing to take big risks, but as soon as it becomes a must succeed situation, I no longer have the desire or courage to risk anything.  After I was able to finally free myself from the trauma of test taking, I thought I was also free of being put on the clock.  That was quite naive of me.  It took me many years to realize that every single action we take is on a clock.  Some are overt, like the countdown timer on a bomb in need of defusing, or the countdown to close of business each day, but others loom just beyond our conscious thought.  

Our lives are on a clock for which we can't actually see the countdown.  It is only during very special, and usually unfortunate circumstances that we can see the final ticks of our own clocks.  The excuse that we can get to something tomorrow or the next day doesn't work as well when one realizes that there may not be a tomorrow.  As far as I know, the sun is not about to expire, but we'll know more once we have our ship completed and can fly closer to it for an inspection.  I've been warned about Icarus, so I know the perils of getting too close to the sun.  We are developing long range sensors to allow us to study it without burning ourselves into oblivion.  I think.  Well, that's the plan anyway, and that's how we drew it on the white paper.

Being aware of omnipresent deadlines was a rude shock to me. Emerging from ignorance hasn't made the situation easier. A trick I learned during my formative years has helped a lot. I pretend that deadlines are arbitrary and the task is not critical. This works at least 23% of the time. I have also found that delegating to subordinates helps. I do a lot of delegating.  In fact, that may be the most powerful tool in AcMo's arsenal. This is even more so since we have trouble developing viable and actionable backup plans. We spend so much of our time developing primary plans that we don't have the energy available to create additional ones.  Besides, if you're always making backup plans, you're already planning for failure with the primary ones.  I plan to succeed on the first attempt and am always shocked and amazed when I'm proven wrong.

Due to some schedule conflicts, I had to delegate this post's completion to a subordinate because I have other projects that need my attention RIGHT NOW. This is a perfect opportunity to showcase how effective delegating is...