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How to Use Deadlines to Unlock Your Best
Writing without stressing yourself out
I was having a Zoom call with a writing client when she dropped a line that stopped me in my tracks.
She leaned toward the screen and said:
“Rick, I need deadlines and tension to do my best work. Without them, I just drift.”
Immediately, I felt those words in my bones.
Because that’s exactly how I operate, too.
In fact, I’ve learned over decades of writing (both for myself and as a ghostwriter) that tension — just the right amount — doesn’t hurt creativity. It fuels it.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
When I sit down with a cup of dark roast coffee at my cluttered oak desk, open a blank Google Doc, and give myself no clear deadline, my thoughts scatter. Words crawl onto the page. I tinker, edit, second-guess, and rarely finish on time.
But when I say, “Rick, you have until noon today to nail this draft,” something changes.
Clarity kicks in. My thoughts snap into place like magnets. My fingers move faster on the keyboard. Suddenly, momentum is on my side.
