What is your take on the difference between a goal and a deadline?

A deadline has consequences. Of the things you listed, only finishing the deck before the client goes to Asia is a deadline; if you want to get paid, it needs to be completed when you say it’s going to be completed.

Vacation – arbitrary, both in terms of date or where you go. If you set a goal of saving $3000 to go to Europe, and you only save $300, you can always go camping.
Restoring the boat – you may want to have it ready for the spring, but if you run into termite damage, or the new ports cost $16,000 and it takes you until next summer to get it finished – it is what it is.
Career – if you know you’re going to be laid off or you are laid off and your severence is going to end by a certain date, then that might be a self-imposed deadline, because there are consequences. However, if you’re thinking about changing jobs by a certain date, and don’t meet that date because you didn’t try, then that’s a goal.

A goal is something you hope to do or when you hope to have something finished. A deadline is the time by which it must be done.

Let’s start a couple of steps above goal and deadline. For example, let’s say that you have always wanted to visit France and decide to go there on your next vacation.
1.) Vision It is where you want to be; the end result.
2.) Mission It is why you want to go to France. You love art and want to visit the Lourve.
3.) Goal It is what you want to accomplish by going by going there. You have always wanted to see the Mona Lisa and go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
4.) Strategy It is planning what it will take to accomplish the goal(s).
5.) Tasks There are all of the steps involved in accomplishing the goals, e.g. scheduling vacation time, booking travel arrangements, buying tickets, packing, etc.
6.) Person Responsible Who is responsible for completing each task. It could be you, a friend, a travel agent, a house-sitter, etc.
7.) Task Due Date Which tasks need to be done in a certain order, and when can they realistically accomplish it?
8.) Follow-up Whoever is the project manager needs to be responsible for ensuring that each task is delivered on time in order to effectively carry out the vision, and make adjustments accordingly.

When working with a client, communication is the key by mapping out the above steps. Almost everyone wants their vision completed fast, with quality, and cheap. As a co-worker says, “Pick two.”

Goal = Self Imposed

Deadline = Imposed by others or by circumstance

Goals/objectives have to be

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_(Specific_Measurable_Achievable_Realistic_Time)

A deadline is associated with a date, like July 1, 2012

I have no problems with goals. “Dead lines are interesting because of the sound they make as they whiz bye” ( stolen from Douglas Adams)

I feel the same way. I don’t mind self imposed pressure, I hate to have someone try to impose their dead lines on me. In fact, my tendency is to resist. That may also be the reason that my boss is typically at least 300 miles away.