Your boss may have an unspoken deadline based on how fast they used to work. They tell you three days but expect one because that's what they did. Ask them directly how long they really think it should take, then decide if you want to just meet the official deadline or beat their hidden one.
Your boss has a secret second deadline and you're actually being judged against it. Here's how it happens. Before your boss became a boss, they were typically a high performer. Maybe they could finish a report in 1 day. Now they give you 3 days because that's the official deadline. But in the back of their mind, they still believe 1 day is enough. That hidden benchmark is what they're actually measuring you against. Miss it and you can quietly lose out on the mentoring opportunities and promotions And they're never going to tell you why. So ask them one question: how long do you think this project should really take? Now that hidden benchmark is out in the open, and when the official deadline is the 15th, you get to choose: deliver on the 15th and be fine, or deliver on the 4th and be impressive. You can't beat a deadline nobody told you existed.
