EFE learning modules / Time Management & Deadlines

Time Management & Deadlines: Negotiating, Explaining Delays, and Setting Boundaries

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Against the clock

/አጌንስት ዘ ክሎክ/

ከሰዓት ጋር መሽቀዳደም

Working very fast to finish something before a deadline.

አንድን ነገር ከቀነ ገደቡ በፊት ለመጨረስ በጣም በፍጥነት መስራት።

In Practice

"We are working against the clock to finish the report."
"The team is racing against the clock."
Fluent Tip

Used when describing a high-pressure situation with a tight deadline.

Burn the candle at both ends

/በርን ዘ ካንድል አት ቦዝ ኤንድስ/

እራስን በስራ ማድከም

To work extremely hard without getting enough rest.

በቂ እረፍት ሳያገኙ በጣም ጠንክሮ መስራት።

In Practice

"You are burning the candle at both ends; you need a break."
"To meet the deadline, he burned the candle at both ends."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe overworking, often leading to exhaustion.

Crunch time

/ክራንች ታይም/

ወሳኝ የሥራ ወቅት

A critical period when a lot of work must be done in a short time.

በአጭር ጊዜ ውስጥ ብዙ ስራ መከናወን ያለበት ወሳኝ ወቅት።

In Practice

"It is crunch time for the project team."
"We have reached crunch time before the launch."
Fluent Tip

Used to denote the final push before a project is due.

Cut it fine

/ካት ኢት ፋይን/

ለጥቂት ማድረስ

To allow very little time for something to happen.

ለአንድ ነገር እንዲከናወን በጣም ትንሽ ጊዜ ብቻ መተው።

In Practice

"We are cutting it fine with this delivery schedule."
"Don't cut it so fine next time."
Fluent Tip

Used when a schedule is very tight and leaves no room for error.

Eleventh hour

/ኢሌቨንዝ አወር/

በመጨረሻው ሰዓት

At the latest possible moment.

በመጨረሻው ሊሆን በሚችል ቅጽበት።

In Practice

"The client changed the requirements at the eleventh hour."
"We finished the proposal at the eleventh hour."
Fluent Tip

Commonly used for last-minute changes or completions.

In the nick of time

/ኢን ዘ ኒክ ኦፍ ታይም/

ልክ በሰዓቱ

Just in time; at the very last second.

ልክ በጊዜው፤ በመጨረሻዋ ሰከንድ።

In Practice

"The materials arrived in the nick of time."
"We submitted the bid in the nick of time."
Fluent Tip

Used when something happens just before it is too late.

On the back burner

/ኦን ዘ ባክ በርነር/

ለጊዜው ይቆይ

To delay dealing with something because it is not urgent.

አንድን ነገር አስቸኳይ ስላልሆነ አቆይቶ ማቆየት።

In Practice

"Let's put that task on the back burner for now."
"The marketing plan is on the back burner."
Fluent Tip

Used in project management to prioritize tasks.

Buy time

/ባይ ታይም/

ጊዜ መግዛት

To delay something in order to have more time to think or act.

ለማሰብ ወይም ለመስራት ተጨማሪ ጊዜ ለማግኘት ሲባል አንድን ነገር ማዘግየት።

In Practice

"I tried to buy time by asking for more details."
"We need to buy some time before the meeting."
Fluent Tip

Used when negotiating for a deadline extension.

Call it a day

/ኮል ኢት ኤ ዴይ/

የቀኑን ስራ ማቆም

To decide to stop working for the rest of the day.

ለቀኑ የቀረውን ስራ ለማቆም መወሰን።

In Practice

"We've done enough; let's call it a day."
"It's 7 PM, let's call it a day."
Fluent Tip

A professional way to suggest ending work for the evening.

Race against time

/ሬስ አጌንስት ታይም/

ከጊዜ ጋር መሽቀዳደም

A situation where you have to do something quickly before it is too late.

አንድን ነገር ጊዜው ሳያልፍ በፍጥነት ለማድረግ የሚደረግ ጥረት።

In Practice

"It's a race against time to fix the server."
"Engineers are in a race against time."
Fluent Tip

Used for urgent technical or project crises.

Ahead of the curve

/አሄድ ኦፍ ዘ ከርቭ/

ከቀጠሮው ቀድሞ መገኘት

To be more advanced or earlier than expected.

ከተጠበቀው በላይ የላቀ ወይም ቀድሞ የተገኘ መሆን።

In Practice

"We are ahead of the curve on the software development."
"This strategy puts us ahead of the curve."
Fluent Tip

Used when project progress is better than the schedule.

Keep your head above water

/ኪፕ ዩር ሄድ አባቭ ዋተር/

ራሱን መቻል

To just manage to deal with a difficult situation or workload.

አስቸጋሪ ሁኔታን ወይም የስራ ጫናን ለመቋቋም መጣር።

In Practice

"With all these tasks, I'm just trying to keep my head above water."
"The department is struggling to keep its head above water."
Fluent Tip

Used when describing a struggle to meet many deadlines.