Deadlines R Us

I haven’t been posting much lately because I had a couple of seminars and two critical application deadlines – for a grant and for a real job. I will write a bit about the seminars soon, and the others if I get them.

Noticing, as always, that I accomplished little in advance, I asked the Twitterverse: “Why can’t I get anything done until the deadlines get so close that I have to lose sleep?” Apparently, I am not alone; so, I have posted a few of my favorite responses:

@wingdisk -  It’s amazing how clear my mind is when a deadline is looming. Otherwise lets go get a cup of tea.
@jayatdell – Samuel Johnson: “…when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”
@rickjmiv -  Deadlines – Sometime we need the adrenaline rush.
@MrsRoadshow – Maybe you’d miss surge of adrenalin you get? A good friend says her creativity isn’t activated unless she’s mildly panicked.
@tishgrier -  I know what you mean. I think I like the thrill of the deadline breathing down my neck a la big orange monster in Bugs Bunny
@Greglester – Are you kidding, that means you’ve planned everything perfectly.
@CXXG – because the work expands to fit (or exceed) the alloted time!
@garyobrien The reason you wait is you’ve been in the newspaper biz too long. We’re all adrenaline junkies.
@mbusse It’s the hallmark of a good journalist. Deadlines are meant to be pushed. Otherwise, what are they for?

WHILE I HAVE YOU
Also, I began to wonder more about how much traffic it takes for an independent blogger to make a living. Mostly, I got replies from people asking me to share my results, which were full of contradictions and generally inconclusive. (Sorry.)
Most of the responses washed out of my Tweetdeck already, but I saved a two-part favorite:
@bglavin137 Not many I bet, and they live in studio apartments! Making real money from blogging alone is like pro sports…SOMEONE does it
@bglavin137 and they gets lots of press (and will for a fee show you how), but no one you actually know does it.