A 

time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or a particular point in time, by which an

objective or task must be accomplished. Once that time has passed, the item may be
considered overdue (e.g., for work projects or school assignments). In the case of work
assignments or projects that are not completed by the deadline, this may adversely affect the
employee's performance rating. In the case of school assignments, essays or reports
submitted after the deadline, marks or grades may be deducted from the student's
assessment.
In some cases, no materials can be submitted after the deadline. This may occur with calls for
proposal, commercial tenders for bids, and application dates for universities and professional
schools. For tests and examinations in schools, universities and job competitions, once the
time limit for the test is up, the test-takers must put down their pens or pencils and hand in
their test.
In project management, deadlines are most often associated with milestones. Time-based
performance targets per se do not affect an individual sense of empowerment as much as the
task uncertainty, which arises with frequent changes to such a target.