This article talks about how the work we do will expand to consume the time available for its completion. That is why things like home renovation projects can take so long. If there is no deadline, there is no urgency, and work gets pushed aside.

The key to overcoming this is to set a deadline. If you are working with a team, work together to decide a good deadline that allows good work but not wasted time. You don’t want your developers thinking it can’t be done right out of the box. They will have a better attitude about the whole thing if they know their opinion mattered.

Putting challenging timeboxes on projects in a healthy environment can lead to serious innovation and creativity.

Setting deadlines that lie on the edge between comfortable and urgent will encourage much greater progress on the work.

It is important to handle the deadlines with grace. The deadlines don’t have to have a consquence if not completed, but it still remains a deadline.

It is important to strike the right balance between not forcing your team to meet the deadline, but also pushing them to focus and work harder.