Deadlines. Don’t you just hate them?

I know I did. Ever since the day I was assigned homework in school that HAD to be turned in by such and such o’clock. I hated looking at my watch knowing that I was running out of time. I hated the pressure of performing under a time limit. I always have. I can’t tell you how many library cards I let expire because I was embarrassed to go back there knowing that I had missed the deadline to return my book(s) and they were now overdue.  I knew there would be a penalty and I didn’t want to face it. I made my sister return them.

But I have since grown to learn that working under deadlines teaches us discipline. It encourages planning and deliberate execution. It helps to perfect us, in spite of our imperfections. A deadline is the reining in of a goal. It helps to clarify a vision and enables us to achieve what we want to achieve. Deadlines, as I have discovered, are our friend. They help us to keep structured and keep our expectations realistic.  This is a good thing because they are now very much a part of my life – and they have been for a long time.

Speaking of deadlines, if you have any expectation of having film (8mm, Super 8, or 16mm) converted to a digital format (DVD, mp4, or DVA) before Christmas, the deadline to get them to me is today. Any film order presented to me after 5pm Tuesday Nov 28,  cannot be guaranteed a pre-Christmas delivery. I still have room in my videotape, audiotape, photo and slide transfer schedule so if you bring them in anytime this week I can turn it around in time for the holidays. But time is closing in on us fast. And those deadlines will be here before you know it.

 Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories. They can be reached at 352-735-8550. http://www.homevideostudio.com/mtd.