I’m having one heck of a crazy week. On top of my normal weekly deadlines, I have a new client to impress and a grant proposal project due at school, and if that wasn’t enough, all of my monthly deadlines fall this week, too.  I like to think that I’m handling the pressure pretty well, but that’s not always the case, so I share with you some traps I’ve fallen into when it comes to meeting multiple deadlines in an insanely scheduled week:

Take It One Day at a Time – If it’s good enough for AA it should be good enough for you. Chuck the calendar and focus only on the tasks that are due today. There’s no way this is going to backfire on a day, say April 15^th, when you have about 12 deadlines.

Work Like a Demon – If you aren’t at your keyboard 24/7 with all these deadlines looming, then you’re a worthless freelancer who doesn’t even deserve to be in the business. Eating? Sleeping? Breaks? No rest for the wicked, woman

Hole Up in Your Fortress of Solitude – Yes, deadlines are hurling toward you like knives at an um… knife throwers convention, but that’s NOBODY’S business. Close your email, shut off your phone and hope for the best when it comes to finishing on time. Shhh! This is all your fault and it’s a secret.

Beat Yourself Up – How could you let this happen? Now your business is going to tank and you’re going to die penniless and alone and when they find you your cat will be bandying one of your eyeballs about on the floor.

The smart thing to do with multiple deadlines looming, of course, is to plan ahead, get plenty of rest and breaks so you do your best work, communicate with your clients as soon as you know a deadline might be in jeopardy, and remind yourself how awesome you are at every opportunity. Sadly, with us that’s not always the case. Do you recognize any of these unproductive traps in your own writing?