Completing Work on Time - Overview

One of your job responsibilities is to complete your work in a timely manner.  This means getting your work done within a time frame that is efficient and helpful to your employer. 

Some jobs involve pressure to finish your work within a certain amount of time.  In other words, these jobs require you to work under deadlines. 

A deadline is a specific time, day, or week by which you have to complete a task.  A deadline is sometimes called a "due date."  

For jobs that have deadlines, it is important to be able to finish your work in time.  Depending on how much time you are allotted to finish your work, your job may require you to be a fast worker. 

Example:An editorial assistant must finish fact-checking a manuscript before a certain date so that the manuscript can begin its next stage of review.  This due date was given to the editorial assistant by their supervisor.

Example: An accountant must turn in their financial report within a week to their client. This deadline was agreed upon by the accountant and his client.

Example:A professor must submit their research grant to the funding source by a certain date in order to be considered for funding.  This deadline was set by the funding source.

Other jobs do not have the same type of time pressure.  For these jobs, you are expected to work steadily, but you may not have a specified date or time to finish your work.  Your work is finished upon its completion rather than at a specified time.  Or, your work is done when your shift is over, regardless of how much work is left to do - someone working on the next shift will take over.  

Example:A cashier at a grocery store does not need to finish checking out a customer in under 2 minutes. Instead, the cashier needs to work as quickly and efficiently as possible to meet the customer’s needs.   There is no deadline or specified time to complete the task, but the cashier must still work steadily. When his shift is over, someone else takes over where they left off.

Example:A custodian must clean the first floor of a building.  The custodian must work until the first two floors are cleaned whether that takes one hour or two hours. The custodian must work until his duties are completed, though there is not a firm deadline for when it must be completed.

Example: A nursery (garden) worker must help out by watering and fertilizing plants until her shift is over.  She must get as much done as she can to help out during her 4-hour shift.

Although these jobs may not have specific deadlines, they usually still require you to work quickly.  For example, a cashier at a busy store must work quickly in order to keep their customers satisfied.  Some people handle this type of time pressure well, while others become flustered, overwhelmed, or just cannot keep up with the pace.  Read more information about work pace.

Similarly, some people have trouble working towards and meeting a deadline. They might work more slowly than needed for the deadline, or they might feel pressure and become anxious by the deadline.  If this is the case for you, a job where you have daily tasks to complete without a specified deadline may be more suitable for you.

Jobs that typically involve deadlines and some jobs where you must work steadily, but do not have a specified deadline or due date:

Jobs that typically involve deadlines or due dates: Accountant Bus driver (you must arrive at locations at a specified time) Computer Programmer Computer Repair Construction Worker Drafter Editor Engineer Graphic Designer House Painter Illustrator Landscaper Mechanic Pharmacist / Pharmacy Technician Professor Research Assistant Teacher Video game designer Web developer

Steady-paced jobs (no specified deadlines): Baggage Handler Bank Teller Cashier Computer Support Specialist Custodian Data Entry Clerk Dining Room Attendant / Bus Boy Farm Worker Filing Clerk Groundskeeper Grocery Bagger Health Aide Worker Librarian / Library Assistant Mailman Mail room worker Nursery / Plant worker Office clerk Production Line Worker Restaurant Kitchen Helper Retail Worker Stock clerk Veterinary Technician Waitress

* This table is a generalization, meaning that these jobs will usually fall into these categories, but there may be exceptions.  The time pressure associated with a job will vary depending on your specific job, so you may need to ask about time pressures during the application process.