A clock can force a decision without improving its judgment.

Deadlines produce decisions rather than good ones. Pressure guarantees that something will be chosen by five o’clock while doing nothing for the quality of the choosing, and the relief of having decided is easily mistaken for having decided well. Speed and judgement are separate things. One of them is simple to manufacture and one is not.

Where a deadline is real, decide early enough that the clock is not doing the thinking. Where it is invented, ask who invented it and what another day would actually cost. And notice when what you feel is relief rather than confidence.