Progress Without Deadlines

Hey hey. How is everyone doing today? Me… Well, I’m hanging in there as always. It will be an off the wall week around here. Gremlin is on spring break, which means I’m going to be in a constant state of WTF. 

See even on good days, Gremlin doesn’t stop, and on bad days it's much and I do mean much worse. Think of a toddler that can’t make up their mind and amp it up to 10x the legal limit of sass and uncontrollable anger. Then add in the fact he’s nonverbal, and damn near the same size as me at the age of 10. I’m sure he will be looking me straight into the eyes by the time he’s 12. 

What does this mean for my week? Well…. It means I sit for no longer than 45 minutes if I’m lucky. If he gets quiet for more than 10, I need to go look and see where he is. And once the husband goes to work my whole area gets moved to a place with a line of sight not just hearing him. Why? Because my gremlin likes to take it upon himself to walk out the front door without me knowing about it. And while he hasn’t pulled the Houdini act in the last year and a half, he did two weeks ago. 

This is what makes my situation fortunate and want to pull my hair out. See because I don’t have a regular 9-5, I can be here for all the breaks, sickness, and odd ball shit that gets thrown my way. I am also the one that changes the move every 5 minutes because he only wants to watch the first 10ish minutes of something. I am the one that deals with the up-downs and running to the other side of the house. 

Which means I get little to no work done when he’s home, and what I do get done gets interrupted at the very least 100s of times. This is the ugly part: there is no separation between home and work because for me it's the same damn place. 

My office is invaded once every 15ish minutes by either the Gremlin or by the other damn adult. There is no “Please for the love of God leave my ass alone.”, “Do you see I’m Fucking doing something.”, or my personal favorite “You are the other adult figure it the fuck out.” Naw Naw… I am the mom, wife, and author. 

As an indie author, there’s something both freeing and uncomfortable about working without a deadline. There is no countdown, no pressure clock ticking in the background, no external voice reminding you that time is almost up. Everything that applies/ed pressure is non-existent. And at first, it feels like relief that no one is telling you what to do.

But then something else creeps into the back of your mind like a demon sitting on your shoulder. Without a deadline, it’s easy to question whether progress is even happening. There’s no clear marker for success. No finish line to sprint toward. Just you, the work, and an open stretch of time that can either feel expansive… or endless. It’s also what allows that good old imposter syndrome to poke its ugly ass head out of the box like a sadistic children's toy.

Progress without deadlines requires a different kind of trust and motivation. It asks you to show up without urgency. To create without the adrenaline of last-minute pressure. To keep going even when no one is waiting on the outcome but you. And that can be harder than working under pressure. Because the only one you have left to impress is you.

Deadlines force movement. They create structure, even if it’s stressful. Without them, you have to build your own rhythm. Your own accountability. Your own reason to keep going when motivation dips. But there’s also something powerful here.

Without a deadline, the work has room to breathe. Ideas can develop more naturally. You can take the time to explore, adjust, and refine without feeling rushed. The process becomes less about racing to the finish and more about building something that actually feels right.

Progress shifts from being measured by speed to being measured by consistency. With the questions rolling through your head: Did you show up today? Did you move something forward, even a little? That’s how you get to measure your progress now.

It might be slower. It might be quieter. It might not look impressive from the outside. But it’s often more sustainable—and sometimes more meaningful—than anything built under constant pressure. Unless you need that kind of pressure. Then you can come hang out with me and my group on Saturday Nights on the Hold My Pen Promptcast…. We will keep you honest with yourself.

I say all that to say this: working without deadlines doesn’t mean the work doesn’t matter. It means the timeline is yours. Freedom can be intimidating, but it can also be exactly what allows something real to take shape. Its also that moment to allow your characters to scream into the void in which you are hearing. 

How do you stay consistent when there’s no deadline pushing you forward? What helps you recognize progress when it’s slow, quiet, and completely on your own terms?

Be Brave, Be Bold But ALWAYS Stay Humble