:) Sorry couldn't resist.

I use a few management programs..

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UPDATED PORTFOLIO
www.jhousedesign.com

basically, shit rolls downhill. designers are near the bottom of the hill. we only get to shit on the printers. so no matter how well i organize myself and plan my own process, other people not meeting their deadlines is what kills me.

of course, i'm inhouse. so i don't necessarily have the option to say "no."

+1 on what gwells said, on all accounts. That's why I always plan on not having enough time by designing and doing the print production at the same time.

I would argue too that some of us need yet another constraint to be creative as art is based on limitations.

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Natobasso
dirtandrust.com
"Powerpoint is not a design application"

I can be a procrastinator, myself... that's why having tight deadlines keeps me in line, because if I had 5 weeks to work on something, you can bet I won't really do much with it until the last week when I'm looking at the calendar saying "crap! I only have three days to get this done!"

Of course, it all depends on the project at hand, too.

whether we like it or not, stress is a part of our work. and that is not always bad as some people think.
me myself work slow, and need most of the time a deadline to work faster. to me it takes specially more time when i in the beginning try to dive into the project. once i 'put' something together, than it goes well.
doing two different jobs at the same time at the moment, gives me the possibility to accept the projects that i like, with enough time.

is good for you. Some of us work better under stress, which is why we wait until our "optimal zone" to actually start working. I know for myself if it's due in a month, I'll start in two weeks...very slowly, then wait till the last week. Sometimes it's also cause it's a project I'm not really interested in, but the money is good, or it's just a slow period for me all around.

Leaky Penny
www.leakypenny.com

Believe it or not, I can actually draw. - Jean Michel Basquiat

I'm probably as bad as anyone for waiting until the last minute, but in my defense, I tend to pull the proverbial rabbit out of my hat (or elsewhere) and that's the one they like the most.

My wife calls it my "Darren Stephens moment." Google it.

Damn I'm old. :)

Terry Thornhill

e-zign Design Group

isn't very motivating. I work so much better when I have a creative team to collaborate with and with whom I can shoot the Sh@t with when I'm bored or feeling creatively challenged.

Unfortunately, I do the same thing. I end up procrastinating until the very last minute, and like mentioned above, I all of a sudden pull something amazing out of a hat. Especially if it's a project that I'm not too keen on. Weird.

I think for some people, like myself, having a strict deadline is key. I am more productive and my work tends to be better when I KNOW something needs to be done like, yesterday!

But obviously, everybody works differently.

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"The name's Bond, James Bond."

www.onegirlcreative.com

...it's the delays from other people and off-spec revisions and work that cause problems.