It is a day when a duvet and a non-taxing novel with plenty of tea seems like the best idea.

But you just know that’s not going to happen, right?

Let’s talk about what happens when your time is your own, and it’s up to you to Get Things Done in a way that meets the expectations of both you and others. Expectations that you might – oh I don’t know – get a large piece of artwork involving several mermaids completed in time for an exhibition you’ve committed to. It’s purely hypothetical, of course.

Here’s how it works for you, I’m sure:

1. You make a plan, figuring out all the steps that have to be completed to achieve whatever it is.
2. You create a schedule, working backwards from the due date, fitting all the steps into the amount of time you estimate they’ll take, thus giving you a concrete list of timed steps, with helpful milestones along the way so you know you’re on target.
3. You remember to include plenty of contingency time, Just In Case.
4. You start on time, work consistently on each step, hit your milestones and complete your project with lots of time (the contingency you built in) left over.
5. You sit back and relax, basking in the knowledge that you are master of your own time and servant of no-one’s agenda.

That’s how it works for you, I’m sure. Don’t try to deny it.

Unfortunately for me (and luckily for you) I’m not you. I am, and always have been, Queen of Last Minute Panics.

Here’s how it works for me:

1. I think about making a plan, which seems like a good idea, but you know, I can always do that tomorrow. Or next week.
2. Eventually, after much reminding, I decide that a plan is a good idea and I scribble some notes on a piece of paper.
3. I lose the piece of paper.
4. A couple of weeks later, I do a plan again because This Time I Will Do It Right, dammit.
5. I try to estimate how long each step will take and come up with a total elapsed time of 3 years, 4 months, 12 days.
6. Since that seems somewhat excessive, I reduce each step’s time by a factor of 53 and come up with something more like 12 weeks.
7. I look at the calendar so I can plan backwards from the deadline and realise that I have, in fact, 14 weeks before it’s due.
8. I revel in the fact that I have loads of time and therefore do not need to panic just yet. Easy peasy!
9. I ignore the plan for the next six weeks, feeling quite relaxed about the whole process, because, you see, I Have a Plan.
10. Quite by chance I look at the calendar and realise that I am now four weeks behind shedule. Gah! How did that happen?
11. I immediately begin work and work like a demon for the next two weeks.
12. I look at what has been accomplished and think, “Wow! I’ve done loads! I’m practically back on schedule now!”
13. I relax again, feeling smug that I am doing so well this time. Why look! I’m almost half way done! I can take it a bit slower now.
14. Some time later, I look at the calender, thinking, “Hmm, better get moving on that; it’s due in about three weeks.”
15. At this point, I realise that “three weeks” is actually “ten days”. Mild panic and determination to REALLY GET ON WITH IT at last kicks in.
16. The last ten days pass in a blur of overstretched days and late nights as I flog myself into finishing on time.

So here I am, head full of cold, feeling oh-so-sorry for myself and I am, of course, at step 15. So, today I will really be getting on with it at last.

Right after I have a little nap.

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