One of my personal specialties is pretending I don't have real problems with Procrastination. One of my oldest tricks in getting people to believe this and in actually getting some work done is partnering with a friend or colleague (or total stranger) in order to get stuff done.
Step of the Day: Partner with Someone
The tremendous variety of benefits of finding other people to work with include:
- reducing your own fear
- sharing the actual workload
- learning new writing and working techniques from your partner
- being more inclined to meet your deadline
- getting support for the work
- being able to brainstorm together for higher-quality ideas
- doing the work in a faster amount of time
I think we often mistakenly believe our work is ours and ours alone. It's as if once we receive an assignment, we feel we have to hole up somewhere without social contact until we're done. We worry if we ask for a partner to help us do the work, somehow our work will be considered less than good, and that would of course be disastrous #tongueincheek.
If you are still hemming and hawing, here's a kickstarter list of areas in your life in which you might benefit from finding a partner:
- decluttering
- studying
- redecorating
- exercising
- writing
- project planning
- doing chores
- envisioning a new book
Try to see where you might find a way to ease your work burden today, by finding someone to help you make it through to the end of your project, task, or assignment.
Remember:
- great authors have great editors
- great therapists have great supervisors
- great singers have great coaches
- great athletes have great trainers
- great people have dogs #justsaying
Some of my own best work has been through collaboration with others. Some of my best friendships have been forged in the fire of hard work. Some of the work partnerships I have gotten into have enabled me to triple my productivity. Don't be shy about it and don't delay — find a partner today!
If there are areas you would like more help with, please feel free to let me know by commenting here.
