The purpose of setting a deadline for a goal is to establish accountability. For a personal goal, that accountability is a measure of success or failure in attaining that goal. For instance, if your goal is to obtain a bachelor's degree, a measure of accountability would be the deadline of achieving that in four years. Thus, achieving that degree in fifteen years could be seen as a failure. In a professional atmosphere, every goal and every project should have a deadline for completion to establish accountability and as a measure of efficiency and competency as well.