--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Meeting external deadlines is much harder…" description: "\"Meeting external deadlines is much harder than meeting internal ones. On the other hand, internal deadlines sometimes don't feel real, and are therefor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ad/james-surowiecki-2196_deadline_meeting-external-deadlines-is-much-harde_375705.png" --- # Meeting external deadlines is much harder than meeting… ![“Meeting external deadlines is much harder than meeting internal ones. On the other hand, internal deadlines sometimes don't feel real, and are therefore easy to evade.” quote by James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ad/james-surowiecki-2196_deadline_meeting-external-deadlines-is-much-harde_375705.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ad/james-surowiecki-2196_deadline_meeting-external-deadlines-is-much-harde_375705.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ad/james-surowiecki-2196_deadline_meeting-external-deadlines-is-much-harde_375705.png) > “Meeting external deadlines is much harder than meeting internal ones. On the other hand, internal deadlines sometimes don't feel real, and are therefore easy to evade.” [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. External deadlines are concrete and enforceable, while internal ones lack external pressure, making them easier to ignore. **In simple terms:** Outside dates push us; inside dates are vague. Key Takeaway Set clear, external milestones for projects. Themes productivity motivation time management Mood focused determined Type practical strategic When to use this quote - project planning - team meetings - personal tasks Key Concepts psychology behavioral economics goal setting Questions to Reflect On - How can you create external accountability? - What incentives make internal deadlines feel real? A Different Perspective Self‑imposed deadlines can still be ignored without accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deadline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deadline/) [Deadlines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deadlines/) [Deadlines Harder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deadlines-harder-3419231/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [External Deadlines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/external-deadlines-3419233/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Harder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harder/) [Internal Deadlines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internal-deadlines-3419232/) [Internals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internals/) [Meeting Internal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meeting-internal-3419234/) [Meetings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meetings/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) ## Related quotes > [All writers are forced to live within deadlines, and deadlines determine how good they can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/all-writers-are-forced-to-live-within-deadlines-and-deadlines/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [ We remind ourselves that it's a hobby \[The Esemblist\]; nobody is setting these deadlines for us, except us. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikka-graff-lanzarone/we-remind-ourselves-that-it-s-a-hobby-the-esemblist-nobody-is-setting/) [Nikka Graff Lanzarone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikka-graff-lanzarone/) > [To be perfectly honest the old habits, specifically deadlines, still very much inform what I do. I am brutally disciplined about getting manuscripts in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/to-be-perfectly-honest-the-old-habits-specifically-deadlines-still/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [Deadlines just aren't real to me until I'm staring one in the face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/deadlines-just-aren-t-real-to-me-until-i-m-staring-one-in-the-face/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [To be honest with you, I'd rather not be working. When you work, there are all sorts of deadlines and pressures. I like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benicio-del-toro/to-be-honest-with-you-i-d-rather-not-be-working-when-you-work-there/) [Benicio Del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benicio-del-toro/) > [I no longer feel I'll be dead by thirty; now it's sixty. 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If you are in a field where life and death, or having a job or not having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/nothing-focuses-attention-like-a-real-deadline-if-you-are-in-a-field/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [Classic authors should be older than I am, and wiser, and on-top of all their deadlines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/classic-authors-should-be-older-than-i-am-and-wiser-and-on-top-of-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More by James Surowiecki > [Lack of confidence, sometimes alternating with unrealistic dreams of heroic success, often leads to procrastination, and many studies suggest that procrastinators are self-handicappers: rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/lack-of-confidence-sometimes-alternating-with-unrealistic-dreams-of/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [Downsizing itself is an inevitable part of any creatively destructive economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/downsizing-itself-is-an-inevitable-part-of-any-creatively-destructive/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [In the business world, bad news is usually good news - for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/in-the-business-world-bad-news-is-usually-good-news-for-somebody-else/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [You might think of consumption as a fairly passive activity, but buying new products and services is actually pretty risky, at least if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/you-might-think-of-consumption-as-a-fairly-passive-activity-but/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [Corporations hope that the right concept will turn things around overnight. 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It was caused by the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/the-financial-crisis-of-2008-was-not-caused-by-investment-banks/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [A consumer-finance agency is a good thing, but it would do well to teach consumers a simple lesson: if you don't understand the deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/a-consumer-finance-agency-is-a-good-thing-but-it-would-do-well-to/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [What corporations fear is the phenomenon now known, rather inelegantly, as 'commoditization.' 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I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [Two things you need to know about taxes. They've extended the deadline to April 18, and when you write your check, just make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/two-things-you-need-to-know-about-taxes-they-ve-extended-the-deadline/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [All writers are forced to live within deadlines, and deadlines determine how good they can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/all-writers-are-forced-to-live-within-deadlines-and-deadlines/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [I always think the most important thing for a writer is a deadline, and it's the same with a house. They say you shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriana-trigiani/i-always-think-the-most-important-thing-for-a-writer-is-a-deadline/) [Adriana Trigiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriana-trigiani/) > [“Pakiramdam ko e andami kong naiisip na dehins magawa dahil alang deadline. Nasanay ata ko sa school tsaka sa trabaho na lahat may deadline.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manix-abrera/pakiramdam-ko-e-andami-kong-naiisip-na-dehins-magawa-dahil-alang/) [Manix Abrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manix-abrera/) > [Everybody in the real world will agree - the moment a project is behind deadline, quality assurance tends to go out the window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cox/everybody-in-the-real-world-will-agree-the-moment-a-project-is-behind/) [Alan Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cox/) > [Nero wasn't worried at all when he heard the utterance of the Delphic Oracle: "Beware the age of seventy-three." Plenty of time to enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-p-cavafy/nero-wasn-t-worried-at-all-when-he-heard-the-utterance-of-the-delphic/) [C.P. Cavafy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-p-cavafy/) > [Nothing focuses attention like a real deadline. If you are in a field where life and death, or having a job or not having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/nothing-focuses-attention-like-a-real-deadline-if-you-are-in-a-field/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [“There is one surefire way to produce bad writing: submit to the slavery of a deadline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flavia-id/there-is-one-surefire-way-to-produce-bad-writing-submit-to-the/) [Flavia Idà](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flavia-id/) > [I think setting goals is critical; having deadlines for ourselves- how much by when? 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The Americans tie yellow ribbons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betool-khedairi/the-deadline-is-at-midnight-in-america-dawn-5-a-m-in-england-and-8-00/) [Betool Khedairi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betool-khedairi/) [Browse all 405 Deadline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deadline/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Meeting external deadlines is much harder than meeting internal ones. 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