My old boss told me I was overthinking deadlines during a coffee break in 2019

He saw me stressing over a project due in three weeks and said 'you are panicking about stuff that hasn't even happened yet.' That one line hit me because he was right - I was burning out on imaginary problems. Has anyone else had a manager say something simple that totally changed how you work?

2 comments

2 Comments

foster.wade1d ago

@linda_butler28 did it help you stop rushing? I still overthink deadlines but that "target not a trap" line is sticking with me now.

linda_butler282d ago

Did your boss's comment actually make you stop overthinking, or did it just make you feel guilty for stressing? I had a similar moment when my old manager told me "the deadline is a target, not a trap" and it honestly took me like two years to realize what he meant was that missing it wouldn't get me fired. That one sentence changed my whole attitude about rushing through tasks and just doing them right the first time.