Deadline Buffer and Strategic Pause
Create an early deadline so stuck work can rest without becoming late
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 97%
Rabe plans for writer's block instead of treating it as an exceptional failure. When a publisher gives her a first-draft deadline, she writes a much earlier date into her own schedule. That buffer acknowledges that a day will come when she cannot solve the page, however hard she keeps thinking. At that point she stops rather than remaining consumed by the same stalled question. She lets the manuscript go temporarily and works on another book or task. The mechanism combines proactive scheduling with deliberate disengagement: the private deadline protects the external commitment, while switching attention interrupts the narrowing loop around the problem. Because time remains before the real due date, she can return to the work without the pause creating a crisis.
Origin
Rabe described the process when asked about writer's block after decades of delivering books to publishers on fixed deadlines.
Core principles
- 01Creative blockage is predictable even when its timing is not
- 02A private deadline should precede the contractual deadline
- 03Forcing attention after thought has stalled can deepen the loop
- 04Switching projects gives the blocked work room to reset
How to run it
- 1
Capture the real deadline
Record the date by which the client or publisher requires the first draft.
- 2
Move your deadline forward
Set an earlier internal deadline that leaves meaningful recovery time before the real one.
Pro tip Rabe's example moved an April 1 deadline to February 15.
Watch out A token buffer of a day or two may not protect a substantial creative project.
- 3
Work to the private date
Treat the earlier date as the operative schedule for producing the draft.
- 4
Recognize the stalled loop
When you cannot think productively for another minute and the work is going nowhere, acknowledge the block.
Watch out Do not confuse ordinary difficulty with total cognitive stalling.
- 5
Stop and switch
Let the blocked project go and spend time on another book or useful task.
Pro tip Choose work that can absorb your attention rather than continuing to rehearse the blocked problem.
- 6
Return inside the buffer
Come back to the project before the external deadline, using the reserved time to finish and revise.
Watch out The pause works only if the schedule still protects delivery.
In the wild
When a publisher requires a first draft by April 1, Rabe writes February 15 into her own schedule because she expects that at least one day will come when she cannot make the work move.
→ She has time to stop, reset, and still meet the publisher's deadline.
If Rabe cannot think one more minute about what the character Funny Ben spent his money on, she lets the question go and works on another book or task.
→ She exits the consuming loop instead of forcing unproductive attention.
Common mistakes
Using the client's date as the working date
With no buffer, a predictable blocked day immediately threatens delivery.
Forcing a fully stalled session
Remaining consumed by the same unsolved detail can keep the writer circled into it rather than generating progress.
Pausing without useful alternate work
The method relies on redirecting attention, not merely worrying about the same manuscript away from the desk.
Is it for you?
Best for
Creative professionals with firm delivery dates and another useful task available during a pause.
Not ideal for
Last-minute assignments with no schedule buffer or alternative work to switch to.
From the transcript
“Because I know there's going to be a day when I cannot do this. I can't figure it out. It's not going anywhere. I'm stuck.”
“So, when that happens, I stop.”
“I will let it go, work on something else, you know, work on another book, do something.”
From the episode
#854: Tish Rabe — 200+ Children's Books, Getting Picked for Dr. Seuss, Lessons from Early Sesame Street, How to Write 300+ Songs, and More
Tish Rabe