I've been pondering human nature while in the woods waiting for the deer to avoid me again. And I came back to the swap. I think that we have too long of a window to build the bow. I don't think anyone needs 5 or 6 months. But procrastination is a part of each of us, for many of us it is a larger part than for others. What that big window does give is the impression of tons of time. So even the best of intentions to dive right in and finish early this year get pushed aside quickly as life happens. You respond to the crocodiles nearest your boat, and July is a long way off. Then all of a sudden the deadline has snuck up on you. You've over-committed yourself and you tell yourself it's unfortunate, but you'll be into the grace period. And heck, so is everyone else -- this assuages your guilt a little. Your sense of urgency ratchets up some, but maybe not enough. You're optimistic that things will go well and you'll finish before the end of the grace period. But now there is no time for error or contemplation. Soon you're burning the midnight oil and rushing to finish. The grace period ends and you're only a few days late. Not the end of the world, but you find yourself reflecting back on those good intentions in January to finish by April 1st. How'd you manage to do nothing until the end of May rolled around?
I would like to propose that we shorten the build window a little. Keep a little more pressure on those of us who need it while our motivation is still in overdrive due to the afterglow of waiting for your recipient's name. My conjecture is that if people start needing to ship by the end of April, you'll actually see more on-time shipments than if the deadline is the middle of the summer. Just a thought.
Topic: 2013 Annual Bow Swap (Read 42890 times)
