25-11-19

As a lawyer, I often have to struggle up the hill of work through the snow of deadlines. I have to meet the deadlines from clients, court, government departments and of course myself. Enemies are the people who fail to assist me in meeting these deadlines. Delays are the parents of bad consequences and yet for some delinquents, the longer the delay, the bigger their joy may be. Missing deadlines is more than a habit for them and it should be a kind of mental handicap for them to treat.

The following are the 12 weapons for us to attack the ‘delay addicts’. Some are my tricks and some are the secret recipes of others. When you however find no solution to the problem after adopting our advice, it is probably not a problem anymore because the easier solution is simply to get rid of the delinquent that you are dealing with.

1. When you chase people, you should not be lazy yourself. Keeping on sending text or app messages is useless. The brutal way is to pick up the phone and start dialing the target, often non-stop. The purpose is to create disturbances to a ‘violence level’ so that the culprit will surrender and hand in what you want from him.
2. The second ruse is to set up a group email or text for all those concerned in a task and exert group pressure or spread ‘group fear’ from time to time. People want dignity and nobody likes the insult of being chased by you publicly in the group chat.
3. Sometimes, you have to put down in writing as evidence the act of delay of another person, either for the self-protection that the delay is actually caused by him and beyond your control; or for warning the culprit that the legal consequence of delay such as compensation will be his responsibility and not yours. This is usually effective against an institution or corporation.
4. Try to offer rewards for punctuality. Money encouragements can sometimes buy better staff and they become punctual in order to get the incentive.
5. The opposite way will be to impose penalty. Late conduct may result in a deduction of bonus. Men are apt to be swayed by fear rather than reverence.
6. The next method is to create inconvenience for the one who is not able to meet your deadline. Locking some of the functions of a computer of the delinquent when he is late can be harsh but you may get blood out of a stone.
7. One tactic is called ‘an eye for an eye’. When one is frequently late with your assignment, you should treat him in the same unkind way. Handle his work also at the last minute and make him feel equally nervous and frustrated.
8. Be a snitch! Make a secret report to the boss or superior of the delinquent in question. Some people have no self-respect and they only react to criticism or ‘intimidation’.
9. Practise what you preach and set yourself an example to the bad guys. I have a friend who always arrives 10 to 15 minutes earlier than the others do. No one working with her dares to be late. Lateness is infectious and the same applies to punctuality.
10. ‘Imprisonment’ may be an alternative solution. Here is the story of a film producer when a scriptwriter is behind schedule: she will invite him to her house on the pretext of a dinner. After dinner, she will not let the scriptwriter depart and start to compel him to finish writing within the ‘imprisoned’ time.
11. Meetings may give you a chance of victory too. People tend to compete and like to outweigh others in meetings. Try to wrap up a meeting by defining what the participants shall do, present and account for in the next meeting. Those who can meet your deadlines in the next meeting will be given a standing ovation by you.
12. The last trick is a legal one. For some serious business, one may put down in a legal contract that any delay in the discharge of an obligation will be discouraged by a daily ‘fine’. The fine has to be reasonable and the arrangement is called an ‘indemnity clause’. This practice is common in the construction industry.

Delay is bad in all circumstances. The great inventor Benjamin Franklin said, “You may delay, but time will not.” We want all things to be punctual—except death.

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