Are 'Last-Minute Girls' Hard Workers? How Should We View Deadlines?

"C'est bon-san... please listen to me for a second..."

I was consulted by A-ko (33), who is in her first year of business,
during a brief moment of spare time.

She has been working very hard this past year (I think).
As a beginner,
she takes on work, learns about broadcasting, and struggles every day.

A-ko told me that one of her outsourcing partners

said to her at a drinking party,
"You always meet your deadlines and are reliable, but you really do cut it close, don't you?"

It seems she was told this
in a tone where the intent was unclear.

"I do meet the deadlines, and I want to use every bit of time effectively to deliver the best work possible. Is that a violation of some unspoken rule? Do some outsourcing partners have issues with that?"

I see.
So you're a 'Last-Minute Girl,' are you?

Working until the very last second.
Back in school, like during a test, there was that feeling of working until the teacher said, 'Alright! Stop!' and sticking with it until the very end!
Or not giving up and keeping at it!
That kind of thing.

Yeah.

I looked slightly upward,
gathering my thoughts on how to explain this to A-ko.

This is a matter of values
and how one uses their time,
so there is no single right answer.

Since the common understanding of a deadline is being met,
A-ko is, of course, not at fault.

However, things like invisible trust scores
and future prospects
are areas where evaluations will differ greatly depending on the person.

If you view it as a test,
giving your absolute best until the very last second
might be the best approach and could be wonderful.
However, this is only true within your own world.
If the work ends right there, then it's perfect,
and I think it's flawless.

But what if someone else's work
is supposed to follow after that?
What if it's a project?

Of course, schedules might be planned
with such things in mind,
so it's not always the case,
but when working on a single task as a team,
I've come to think about what happens next without even realizing it.

This isn't a boastful note to show off that I'm good at my job
or to make it look like I'm doing a lot💦,
but rather, I want to pose the question:
could this way of thinking in every action help create a kinder world?

For example, in a work project,

1→2→3→4→

suppose there is a flow like that, and there are separate teams for each.

And let's say I am in the third step of the process.

Of course, schedules are sometimes planned
with consideration for unexpected things like
trouble, delays, or some kind of additional work,
but in other cases,
the time might be packed to the limit from the start.

While it needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis,
I believe that having time to spare
is highly desirable regardless of the schedule.

I think it has a psychological effect,
and I also think it influences one's thought process.

When my work isn't the final step,
and there are processes that follow mine,
I make it my personal rule
to always submit it well before the deadline.

It's not just that I want to submit it early; it's because
I consider the recipient's 'time to digest' and
the 'room for revisions'
to be 'part of the job'.

Submitting something right at the deadline
could end up depriving them of that buffer.

So, while wondering how to convey this to A-san,

I thought that while she might be meeting her own internal deadline
and it might not be a problem,
if you consider the 'consideration' that goes beyond that,
the kind of thoughtfulness required when working with others,
you might see things differently.

That is what I tried to convey, leaving it for her to infer.
There is no point in doing this just because you were told to.
I believe it won't be effective
unless you experience it yourself and feel that it is the right way.

In other words (though I didn't say this to A-san),
submitting at the last minute means that,
even if you are on time by your own standards,
for the recipient, it could mean cutting into the time they need to prepare for revisions or review,
the time they need to digest the work.

Do you work with a sense of sharing time
with the other party or society?

Or do you just focus on meeting the deadline,
thinking that as long as it's on time, it's okay?

Because a person's invisible values
show up in their minor attitudes,
how one 'uses deadlines' can sometimes be seen as
how one 'engages with the world'.

Is it something that is completed only within yourself?
Or do you perceive it as work
that involves someone else?

I personally think that such a small difference in awareness
leads to trust, the possibility of continued work,
and even those invisible relationships.

However, I would also like to raise the issue of performance here.

A little while ago,
I read a book
themed around maximizing brain productivity.

It seems that where one can achieve peak performance
differs from person to person.

・People who can perform well
　when they have time to spare

・People whose performance is maximized
　when they are pressed for time

In other words, there are people for whom having time to spare
works as a positive, and those for whom it does not.

If there are 10 minutes left,

the difference between the person who thinks 'Oh no, there's only 10 minutes left!!!' and

the person who thinks 'There's still 10 minutes left!!!'

If you know which one your teammate is,
that's all for the best, but
while it's impossible to hand over a last-minute situation to create breathing room,
if you provide extra time, they can make it last-minute themselves, and
approaching work with time to spare
seems to have various positive effects.

Also, what concerns me is when people use
working until the very last second
as proof to others
that they are working hard.

There is also a tendency to think that
people who finish quickly,
people who are fast at their jobs,
or people who don't take much time to work
are doing things sloppily,
taking it easy,
or cutting corners.

We also cannot overlook the collective unconscious 'assumptions' that lead to misunderstandings.

Those who value external validation will inevitably find it impossible to ignore this,
and those like me, who can do their best, feel satisfied,
and then leave it to the other party's judgment, will likely be able to let it slide.

Doing things carefully is not the same as taking a long time,
and just because something takes time does not mean it is good work.

While asking yourself about these things,
if you think you might be a 'Last-Minute Girl',
is that really hard work? Or is it just self-indulgence?
If you take a moment to look back,
you might see a different perspective.