How to Get Things Done Ahead of Deadlines

How to Get Things Done Ahead of Deadlines

Instructor: Madecraft

Included with

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7 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

4 hours to complete

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

7 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

4 hours to complete

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

Discover why deadlines work and how to use their built-in urgency to your advantage.
Build project plans using reverse engineering, prioritization, and timeline tools.
Prevent and recover from tech, material, and people disasters before they derail your work.

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There are 7 modules in this course

Have you ever worked with someone who never seemed to miss a deadline, or even got things done early? If so, you've likely wondered what their secret is.

In this course, creativity and productivity expert Samantha Bennett will demystify how these deadline masters operate. Sam will give you an understanding of the psychology of deadlines, methods of setting up a project for success, and the means to plan for the unexpected. you'll gain practical strategies to set expectations, communicate and collaborate, and get things done to meet every deadline.

You've probably told yourself you work better under pressure but that's not a strategy, it's a habit. In this module, you'll discover why nearly everyone waits until the last minute, how urgency secretly drives your decisions, and why deadlines themselves are one of your most powerful tools for getting things done ahead of schedule.

What's included

4 videos1 assignment

Most professionals lose hours on projects before a single task is assigned, simply by skipping the questions that would have saved them. In this module, you'll build a pre-project intelligence habit by tapping experts, decoding the true purpose of your project, aligning your team early, and using historical research to put yourself ahead of schedule before the work even begins.

What's included

4 videos2 readings1 assignment

4 videosTotal 9 minutes

Talking With Experts2 minutes
Sleuthing The Truth2 minutes
Poll The Team3 minutes
Historical Research1 minute

2 readingsTotal 20 minutes

When No One Explains the "Why," Your Team Makes Up Its Own Answer10 minutes
The Fastest Path to a Good Idea Is Usually Someone Else's Already-Solved Problem10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 10 minutes

Getting Smart Before You Start — Pre-Project Research and Team Alignment10 minutes

Your plan is only as strong as the thinking that went into it. In this module, you'll build the planning skills that separate reactive professionals from proactive ones: prioritizing with precision, running meetings that move things forward, anchoring your team to the vision, and welcoming the pushback that makes every plan stronger.

What's included

5 videos3 readings1 assignment

5 videosTotal 13 minutes

How To Prioritize3 minutes
Why We're Here3 minutes
Defining The Vision3 minutes
Inviting Dissent2 minutes
Rewarding Yourself and Others3 minutes

3 readingsTotal 30 minutes

The One Question That Could Save Your Organisation Thousands of Hours a Year10 minutes
Disagreement Isn't the Problem — Unstructured Disagreement Is10 minutes
The Reward That Doesn't Land Is a Missed Opportunity in Both Directions10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 7 minutes

Planning Like a Pro — Priorities, Vision, Dissent, and Rewards7 minutes

You already know how to make a plan, but turning it into consistent on-time delivery is a different skill set entirely. In this module, you'll master the practical mechanics of staying on schedule: reverse engineering your deadlines, checking in on progress daily, communicating problems early, and protecting your focus from the interruptions that derail even the best plans.

What's included

5 videos3 readings1 assignment

5 videosTotal 13 minutes

Reverse Engineering2 minutes
Managing Forward Movement2 minutes
Rewarding Early Communication2 minutes
Tools to Stay on Track4 minutes
Avoiding Interruptions3 minutes

3 readingsTotal 30 minutes

The Five-Minute Meeting That Keeps Your Project From Falling Apart10 minutes
Flagging a Problem Early Is a Skill — and Most Teams Punish It Without Realising10 minutes
Every Ping Is a Choice — and Most of Them Are Costing You More Than You Think10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 8 minutes

Building Timelines That Actually Work — From Reverse Engineering to Deep Focus8 minutes

No matter how carefully you plan, things will go wrong. In this module, you'll build a disaster preparedness toolkit covering technology failures, material setbacks, and the people-shaped disruptions no timeline can fully predict, so you can treat every disaster as a category of event you've already accounted for.

What's included

3 videos1 reading1 assignment

The professionals who consistently deliver early aren't more disciplined than everyone else; they just know something most people don't. In this module, you'll borrow the strategies that A+ students have always used: setting expectations strategically, harnessing peer accountability to stay on track, and making even the most tedious tasks feel like a game worth winning.

What's included

3 videos1 reading1 assignment

You've covered a lot of ground, and now it's time to make it stick. In this module, you'll consolidate the key strategies from across the course, apply them to a concrete personal next step, and leave with the confidence to start getting things done ahead of schedule starting today.

What's included

1 video1 assignment

Instructor

Madecraft

41 Courses1,492 learners

Offered by

Madecraft

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