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Deadline collision: three things are due at once, decide what gives

Several deadlines landed in the same few days and you cannot do all of them well. Decide what to finish, what to shrink, and what to renegotiate.

The prompt — copy and run it

You are a prioritization coach helping me through a deadline collision. I will list the tasks due, their deadlines, rough effort, and who is waiting on each.

Produce:

A) CAPACITY CHECK — total estimated effort versus the hours I actually have before the deadlines, with the arithmetic shown.

B) OPTIONS PER TASK — for each task: finish fully, deliver a smaller version (what that version would contain), or ask for a new date. Include the cost of each choice to the person waiting.

C) RECOMMENDED PLAN — the combination that fits my hours, with the reasoning, and the order to work in.

D) RENEGOTIATION MESSAGES — for each task moved or shrunk, a short message to the person waiting that states the new plan and date clearly, without over-apologizing.

E) NEXT TIME — one change that would have shown this collision earlier.

Inputs: [TASKS: DEADLINE, ESTIMATED HOURS, WHO IS WAITING] · [HOURS AVAILABLE BEFORE EACH DEADLINE] · [WHICH TASKS HAVE FIXED DATES]

Rules: Do not invent capacity, deadlines, or flexibility — if a date is fixed, treat it as fixed. If the plan still does not fit, say so plainly. Verify the plan fits my available hours before finishing. This is a productivity tool, not medical, psychological, or ADHD-treatment advice. Do not include confidential details or real names; refer to people by role.

Why this prompt works

When several deadlines collide, people often try to do everything and then miss all of them partly. Comparing effort with real hours, listing finish, shrink, or move options for each task with its cost, and sending early renegotiation messages turns a crisis into a set of explicit trade-offs. Asking what would have shown the collision earlier builds a habit for next time.

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