How to Not Panic

Today is Feb. 7, which is significant to some in that tomorrow, in addition to being Thursday, will be Feb. 8. This year, Feb. 8 is the last day for teams in the National Basketball Association to trade players until after the end of the regular season. The trade deadline actually falls in the middle of the afternoon, meaning that teams can only finalize trades up until 3 p.m. Eastern.

Like most things in life that have a deadline attached to them, the NBA trading period is driven by procrastination. There are plenty of teams that want to make trades, and even quite a few teams that most impartial observers would say really need to make a trade. This is basically everybody's last shot — most especially including teams in playoff contention — to make a dramatic upgrade before season's end.

But while teams have had the freedom to trade nearly every player on their rosters since early December, most have been sitting on their thumbs for months. Real motivation to get something done typically materializes only after a hard nudge from last-second panic inspired by the looming deadline. "Oh no! If we don't do something NOW, it will be too late!"

Really, this is just a manifestation of human nature. We're all busy, or at least we all like to think that we are. While there are true blue overachievers and dyed-in-the-wool eager beavers in every walk of life, however, most people are just waiting around and killing time until, "Well, this is due tomorrow. It's probably time to get started." It's just the way we're wired.

That's why you need to have a solid plan in place when you start down the path to getting an IT certification. There are plenty of things in life that can be dillied and dallied to completion, or that you can energetically slapdash your way through at the last minute. Certification is not one of those things. You can't piddle and diddle with certification, and you can't rush through at the last second and get anything worthwhile out of your investment of time and money.

To succeed in IT certification, you need to start early, and commit to putting some time in every day. Just like the best NBA teams commit to a process before the season even starts, and go through relentless hours of practice and hard work, successful IT professionals get down to business early on, and stay committed to realistic timelines throughout whatever it is they're working on.

An article posted this week at The Ringer, makes the point that in-season NBA trades almost never spur teams to title contention. In most cases, teams can't integrate players fast enough to make a real difference. A lot of teams make the trade anyway, because deadlines, because panic, and because, yeah, sometimes it actually turns out to be just the thing.

Don't count on the outlying examples to fuel your certification efforts. Get started early, follow a clear plan, and don't rush through. Deadlines are for the weak-willed. Those who are most successful in life almost never have to panic and sweat as a deadline approaches. They already have a gameplan, and they've already got the details well in hand.