Week 34 - The Psychology of Deadlines

It's no wonder people hate deadlines. After all, striving to meet a deadline can be a very stressful thing. With a deadline approaching, we tend to focus in, buckle down, and put our nose to the grindstone so we can make our deadline.

For students, deadlines come in the form of final exams, the time to prove what one has learned in a course. With a deadline looming, we settle in for some hard studying, and the closer the day of the exam comes, the harder we cram.

Deadlines affect every part of our lives. Even recreation can have deadlines, as evident by this weekend's Christmas concert at St. Stan's. Even though tickets had been available for a month, many waited until that deadline approached to make their purchase. We went from having several hundred tickets to being SOLD OUT in less than a week. There's nothing like a deadline to get us motivated.

Our campus project is approaching its deadline as well, and its evident in the rate at which the workers are moving. This week, the exterior brick got wrapped up near the entry way, and our cornerstone underwent fitting. In addition, the kitchen floor and some of the laminate flooring in the utility rooms was completed, and workers began laying carpet. Bathroom fixtures are now being installed, as are all the cabinets for the building. You can view our progress in the photo album.

It's appropriate that all these deadlines come as the year winds to a close. Even the Advent season is intended to remind us that we live life on a deadline, preparing for the arrival of Jesus. As with any deadline, the more prepared we are, the happier we will be when the time arrives!