Picking your way through deadlines

When is a deadline really a deadline? It is a tricky skill to learn, but learn it you must… otherwise you could end up wearing the visitors’ lab coat, says Dr Matthew Partridge...

Deadlines are tricky things. When you are a young researcher, deadlines are scary things that cause sleepless nights and sweaty lab coats. When you are an older researcher, deadlines are more suggested, vague and probably for someone else.

The word 'deadline' means pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It's a line that, if you cross, you'd be shot dead. In a research lab this can be literally true… I've worked with people who could kill you with a cold angry look.

In recent months I have been particularly bad at meeting deadlines. I would argue that this is because the deadlines are unreasonable. Some are so close to when they are set that it's hardly worth trying, others are so far away that they were easy to forget. I fail to see how either could be my fault?

Luckily for me, despite missing several deadlines, I've actually missed very few Deadlines. That that needs some explaining…

See, for people new to research there are two kinds of deadlines, deadlines and Deadlines. The first deadlines are soft https://www.labnews.co.uk/wp-admin/post-new.phpfriendly deadlines – if you cross them you don't get shot dead but you might get something else not quite as bad. Some deadlines are very loose and crossing them might result in, at most, a disapproving look. Examples of this are initial conference submission deadlines. Practically all conference deadlines are extended and so you can be sure that the first date is very much a soft friendly deadline.

Other deadlines are worse, and instead of being shot you might suffer a Chinese burn or a swift kick in shins. These are deadlines for remembering to submit an invoice on time or filing your-self appraisal with your boss.

Deadlines are, by comparison, immovable things. If you cross them you will suffer the research equivalent of being shot, such as having your lab access revoked.

The severity of a Deadline depends a lot on the circumstances and how terrifying the person setting it is. If you miss a Deadline you can sometimes be used as an example to others to make sure that missing a Deadline is a thing to be feared. Public flogging isn't allowed in labs but making you wear the bright blue 'visitor' lab coat because you missed the Deadline for is.

It is pretty common that, once you miss a deadline, it will be replaced with a Deadline. Telling the difference is very important.

When you are new to research it can be very difficult to differentiate deadlines and Deadlines. It is a skill that is practically impossible to teach via anything other than exposure. So when more senior researchers give you lots of deadlines they aren't being cruel or trying to stress you out its important researcher skills training.

Author:

[caption id="attachment_83608" align="alignnone" width="164"] Dr Matthew Partridge is a senior Research Fellow at the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton but describes himself as a biochemist who has accidentally ended up working with optical sensor systems.[/caption]