You know when you take out your frustrations at the people closest to you because you know it’s a safe space and they’ll forgive and love you anyway?

Well, we do that to internal projects too. We push their due dates, we shove them down the priority list, and we ignore them because they’ll be there when we have time.

I’m currently sitting in a hotel room, it’s 10:30 p.m., and I have a deadline first thing tomorrow morning. Yeah. It’s this blog post. I left town last night for client work, and I’m out for the remainder of the week.

I had the best of intentions to work on this last week—then early in the week before I left the office—but, alas, unexpected meetings and calls, and client and staff needs kept bumping this down the list.

It’s now 11:30 p.m., and I am on the struggle bus. I haven’t had actual time to be thoughtful about this after an all-day photoshoot filled with adults and little ones, while also juggling communications that come through that require attention.

And, so, here we are.

Lesson learned. Maybe.

My advice: Respect the needs and space your internal projects require.

Because, after a while—much like the people closest to you—your internal client will get really tired of your shenanigans and won’t be around to help you grow.