It’s GCSE time in the Davies household, and Anna is right in the thick of it.
She’s powered through 12 exams in the past couple of weeks and, honestly, I can’t help but see a lot of myself in her.
She’s definitely a last-minute crammer, just like I was. Despite her 6am paper round (which I had at her age too), she’s been up near (or past) midnight most evenings.
The night before her English Lit exam, she was finally reading the end of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde—a last-minute push that brought back memories of me doing the same thing with Brighton Rock 37 years ago.
But this isn’t about nostalgia—it’s about the power of deadlines.
In business, deadlines are everything. They get things done.
Take the self-assessment tax return – nearly 10% of people file on the last day every year, despite having 10 months to do it.
Deadlines focus the mind and get you to take action, particularly when the task isn’t something you’re keen to tackle.
That’s why, in business, there’s real power in setting your own deadlines.
There are external deadlines that force you to act – for me, it’s client deadlines, HMRC deadlines, Companies House deadlines – but I also create my own.
For instance, committing to finishing something by 9am on Monday can be a game-changer. But it’s even more powerful if you make that commitment to someone else.
If it’s for a customer, you know you’ll stick to the deadline. So why not do the same when it’s your own stuff? Involve someone else. It could be a team member, a fellow business owner, your coach, or anyone you trust.
I use this tactic all the time – I schedule meetings with team members, where we both know we’ll bring something to the table. It’s a shared commitment that holds us both accountable.
The bottom line is that, just like knowing there’s an exam tomorrow morning, deadlines force you to get things done.
If you have any questions, please email su*****@*********************co.uk or give us a ring on 0151 380 8084.
Many thanks
Jon
PS: Anna also studied Macbeth for English. I did the same, though I never quite made it to the end. I believe he died???