Nightmare deadline experience

Hi,
I’ve just gone freelance and had a deadline recently, but didn’t plan in enough time to get the piece done in time. This was partly a mix of putting it off, out of fear of it being an important opportunity for me….. and then I recognise that fear of doing a bad job possibly manifested in me getting that result, in terms of filing it a day later. (I don’t think I actually did a bad job at all on the piece though).
However, because I didn’t leave enough time, the expereince was very rushed, and I ended up staying up until 4am and 3am, two nights in a row to get it done. Plus I stress ate so much that I felt sick after, possibly compounded by the lack of sleep (about 6hrs or less both nights) affecting my digestion.
It wasn’t the best experience! And I’m still recovering from it now, and worried about getting ill.
However, I’m also able to be compassionate with myself and see that, ok, I’m new to this, I am still working out how long different types of commissions will take me, I have a lot on etc.
Still, I don’t want to repeat this in future! The stress bingeing scared me, as I ate a lot and felt so full that I didn’t eat much the next day (very unlike me!).
Do you have any advice on managing my approach to deadlines / avoiding behaviours like staying up to crazy hours and stress eating to get it done?
Thanks so much

 

Answer:

 

Let’s look more deeply into the reason why you put off this work in the first place. You mentioned a fear of it being an important opportunity. What about this opportunity were you afraid? Notice also how you feel when you talk about what you’re afraid of.

The reason we procrastinate isn’t always because we just don’t want to do it, it’s more often because of what we’ll feel when we’re in the midst of doing the thing: boredom, constrained, incapable, panic, etc. Let’s figure out what feeling you’re avoiding and keep coaching on it.