Deadline Approaching

 I returned to work today following the Easter Break. I was fortunate to be able to chip away at a considerable amount of the enquiry over the two weeks, whilst ever conscious that if I missed a day that I would quickly be quite behind! 

Whilst catching up with a colleague, she asked how I got on with the work load, and we ended up discussing the differences in behaviors when approaching deadlines. We began reflecting (and comparing) the ways in which myself and my sister, both studying degrees, approach looming deadlines.

I personally, have never 'got on' with approaching deadlines, or exam periods since I was in primary school. Regardless of the preparation before hand, or how organised I force myself to be, subconsciously I know that the deadline is approaching, and my body goes into it's stress response. 

In the past, my stress response has led to a number of ailments, that mysteriously disappear the moment the deadline or exam has passed. During my GCSE's, I routinely lost my voice when approaching foreign language exams or presentations. At auditions, similar circumstances have occurred, as well as fainting or suddenly developing a particularly awful cold.    

My sister however (the scientist & mother of three), from my perspective seems to breeze through these exact situations. She has a fantastic ability to really understand her strengths and limitations, and can plan in a way that allows her the 'perfect' amount of time to complete any essay or revision that may come her way. 

Over time, particularly since receiving CBT therapy I'm able to both understand why my body reacts to intense periods of stress, as well as create tools and adaptations to my behaviour to keep the anxiety at bay. Following the conversation today with my work colleague, she informed me that whilst my sister may 'look' as though she is coping effectively, everybody responds and manages stress in various ways. 

Whilst deadlines are likely to never be my bestfriend, I can cope well with less intense levels of stress, for a vast amount of time. This has been a helpful lesson when it comes to approaching deadlines, I can minimise the amount of stress, by creating effective plans that work to my strengths and weaknesses. 

We're approaching the final hurdle now and I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of the groups enquiry presentations! I think the range in topics is going to be particularly interesting, but I'm keen to see if there are any cross over's in topic discussions as well as similar enquiries but in different areas of the arts.