How do you handle deadlines? Do you disregard them? Do you honor them? Do you treat them seriously?

I treat them seriously, but I have trouble with procrastinating.

No, yes, hell no and not really.

It varies considerably with the subject.

Depends on who I am working with.
The worst are the ones that want to change every last little detail up until the last second, turning a picture that looked good at first into something terrible.
Followed by the ones who want something done in 3 days, but only provide preliminary planning data, and the final ones on the last day.

In engineering, there are always unexpected complications, and there are always problems that are too hard for me to solve on my own, meaning that making my deadlines isn’t just a matter of me working hard but also a matter of when is someone available to help me. I always try my best to make deadlines, but things slip on a regular basis, and a good company plans its work with the idea in mind that slippage will happen.

About 15 years ago I switched dentists. I wasn’t exactly sure how the buses would run to get to to the new dentist. So I did a dry run the day before so I could work out any kinks. I wanted to be on time for my appointment.

That is all you really need to know.

What @stanleybmanly says. Context is everything.

I do. I take promises to people the most serious though. And I hate being late.

If possible, I’ll wait until the last day (unless I’m in the mood for that). After all, myself and personal activities are paramount.

My personal deadlines? I rarely set them. I’ll either get something done in my own time, or I won’t. Setting deadlines for myself is ridiculous. If another person is involved, it is a very serious thing with me and I don’t agree to them easily unless they are absolutely necessary and, in order to ensure timely completion, I will usually negotiate the widest window as possible.

A deadline is a promise. Promises to others are very important to me. It is my word, a rep I protect like gold. If I meet someone who breaks promises, whether made casually or not, my estimation is immediately lowered and mentally I classify them as “unreliable.” I discount everything they say from then on and consider them a bagatelle as a human being. It’s a huge flag with me and I am rarely wrong that these people almost always turn out to be of weak, unreliable character—they invariably don’t take themselves or other people seriously. I do not need people like that in my life.

My policy—and I strongly advise this to others—is to not make promises easily. This comes from the experience of a man who, in his younger years, has broken promises to his great embarrassment and shame. They may be forgotten by others, but I still remember and am haunted that these promises can come back and bite me in the ass. Paying for the sins of my youth.

A person’s word, ultimately, is all they have. And I don’t agree to deadlines without giving them very serious thought. When I do agree to them, money is usually involved.