If someone asked me to describe my experiences with research in a word, I’d probably end up at a loss. My research experiences have been exciting, tiring, and fulfilling all at once. Research is endlessly multifaceted, with each experience being unique. Still, a few constants remain, and deadlines are certainly one of them. No matter the methods, no matter the discipline, every project eventually comes to an end. As that moment creeps closer, it often feels more and more inconveniently insurmountable.
Despite this, deadlines are important. They not only help with the goal-setting process, but also force us to abandon the appeal of endless revisions in the pursuit of perfection. Deadlines ensure that, at some point, there will be a final product. Meeting those deadlines, however, is a different story and one that can present real challenges.
One of the best ways to get around the challenge of meeting a research deadline is to create an internal timeline and hold yourself accountable to it. The tricky thing about official deadlines is that when they are handed down, they are often months away. This distance can create a false sense of security. Establishing your own timeline helps counter this by allowing you to build in checkpoints for your own work. By breaking the deadline down into this series of smaller checkpoints, you can be sure that all of the work is spread manageably. This can also be useful for planning out the logistics of the project, whether that involves a site visit, requesting resources, or a complex protocol involving microbes. Building in flexibility at this stage is definitely crucial, because in research, anything can happen, and you never want the unexpected to throw you off track. In my previous experience, I’ve stuck to Google Calendar, but I have friends who have had incredible success with spreadsheets and platforms like Notion.
Perhaps the most important way to navigate research deadlines is to communicate! I’ve written a few times about the importance of communication as a skill in research, and it most certainly applies here. Early communication about your own expectations, goals, and most relevantly your limits will lead to success down the line regarding deadlines. When you receive a deadline that’s unrealistic, it’s important that those concerns are communicated as soon as possible. There are two key reasons for this. First, it demonstrates your commitment to producing high-quality work and your concern with the integrity of the process. Second, it opens the door to a conversation. This conversation could reveal an earlier misunderstanding about the expectations or experience that led to the tight deadline in the first place. Conversely, if the assigner of the deadline does not feel the same way, it presents an opportunity to discuss what skills you need to develop or how to approach the tasks in order to meet the deadline. These conversations are so much more productive when they happen earlier. When a deadline is on the horizon, it is more indeterminate and malleable. But as the deadline approaches, it becomes more fixed for everyone involved, and plans are already in motion that require it to be met. It’s important to take advantage of the time before this happens, so that you won’t be scrambling as a deadline nears.
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to ask a professor of mine a question that I had been holding on to since my first year here. I wanted to know if professors preferred subpar work that was on time or quality work submitted after the deadline. Her answer surprised me. She remarked about her disappointment that the student didn’t just communicate with her before the deadline, so that a high quality assignment could be submitted on time. Even though it can seem intimidating or maybe embarrassing, communication is almost always the answer.
— Stanley Stoutamire, Jr., Social Sciences Correspondent
