Deadlines. Just hearing the word is enough to make anyone nervous. It’s like a ticking clock daring you to keep up. As someone who loves being creative and telling stories, I always take deadlines seriously. But one day, I missed one. What seemed like a mistake became one of my greatest lessons.
The Pull of Toofan
It all started on a Wednesday evening. I had a project due by midnight—a blog post for a client’s big campaign. I had every intention of starting right after dinner. But something irresistible came up: Toofan.
If you haven’t heard of it, Toofan is probably Shakib Khan’s biggest movie ever. Directed by Raihan Rafi, it’s the story of a mafia leader and his lookalike who gets caught in his web of crime. The buzz around it was everywhere. Being in the creative field, I knew I had to watch it—not just as a fan of good stories but also for research.
You see, storytelling is at the heart of what I do, and great movies are treasure troves of inspiration. Plus, as someone who loves meme marketing, I’m always on the lookout for scenes that can be turned into hilarious meme templates.
So, I told myself, “One quick watch and then back to work.”
The Distraction
What I didn’t account for was how gripping Toofan would be. Shakib Khan’s dual performance, the high-stakes drama, the Lage Uradhura song—it all had me glued to my seat. Before I knew it, two hours had flown by, and it was almost 10:30 PM.
“No problem,” I thought. I still had enough time to wrap up my blog. But just as I started working, the annoying ‘Working on updates, Don’t turn off your PC. This will take a while ‘ message popped up.
I panicked, pacing the room as the progress bar crawled at a snail’s pace. The clock kept ticking, and my anxiety skyrocketed.
The Missed Deadline
By the time the laptop finished updating, I had barely an hour left. Fueled by panic, I rushed through the blog post, typing as fast as I could. The words came out messy and disjointed. When I finally hit Submit, it was 12:06 AM.
I had missed the deadline by six minutes.
I stayed up all night, replaying the evening in my head. Why did I let myself get distracted? Why didn’t I plan better? Why didn’t I have a backup plan?
A Second Chance
The next morning, my client emailed me. My heart raced as I opened it. But instead of being upset, they wrote something surprising:
“The draft looks fine, but something just doesn’t feel complete. Take another day to improve it.”
Another day? I couldn’t believe it. I took a hard look at my draft and realized they were right—it was rushed and lacked depth.
With the extra time, I reworked it from scratch. I added a personal touch, polished the flow, and gave the story more meaning. By the time I resubmitted it, I was proud of what I had written.
What Toofan Taught Me
Missing that deadline taught me something important: great stories take time. Creativity isn’t a race, it’s a process. And sometimes, stepping back, even if it’s unplanned, can lead to better results.
So, yes, Toofan caused me to miss a deadline. But it also reminded me why I fell in love with storytelling in the first place. And hey, I even got some meme ideas out of it.
The blog post? My client loved it. They said it was one of the best pieces they’d ever published. Turns out, sometimes a little chaos can lead to something great.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have another movie to “research.”
