274 Days (Or The Importance of Deadlines)

I’m a procrastinator.  I always have been and, in all likelihood, I always will be.  The thing about procrastinators is that we do get the work done, and we get it done just before the due date.

I am grateful that Texas 4000 has deadlines for this reason.  Not only do they have deadlines, but they’re also hard deadlines.  Soft deadlines shouldn’t exist, because they basically negate the due date.  A hard deadline though?  That’s non-negotiable.  Our first deadline was to have a certain number of volunteer hours, and I loved that because it meant that we had to spend our Saturday mornings working at triathlons getting to know our teammates.  I am grateful, because I have more friends now than I thought I could by this point in the game.

The biggest upcoming deadline so far is on September 3.  On that date we are required to have fundraised $1,000, and without this deadline I likely wouldn’t have sent out the first round of letters already.  What if we haven’t raised $1,000 by this deadline?  We don’t get our bikes.  Well that was incentive enough for me, and I am grateful for the outpouring of support I have received from those who have received something so far.  What’s the next deadline?  That 5K I mentioned last post.  Now if only I could scare myself into running every day . . .