I think assuming the best in others is probably something Procrastinators are terrible at. Rotten at even.
We take on projects, which are straightforward, simple even, and then we complicate them. A lot. Mostly by making the whole affair more about what the other person will think than about what will make the project be done. This may happen under any number of circumstances, including when we:
- work with someone who is always, totally organized
- believe the person we need to deliver the project to means “everything” to our current status
- let too much time elapse between the start time and the completion time for the task
- get very nit-picky about what we are doing
- have difficulty organizing the little, niggling details, even when we know them by heart
- feel down or low in mood
- feel badly about ourselves
- have been late submitting previous collaborations to this other person
- work in isolation on a project for too long
I think this is a very human thing to do, this making things more complicated. We are social creatures after all. But I also feel we can move around this type of behavior by assuming the best in others. We can trust and have faith that:
- our typos won’t be misunderstood for a lack of intelligence
- our first draft is worth looking at
- when we turn things in, it is appreciated
- others will have patience with how we’ve decided to work and what we ended up producing
- our work will be better if it is created without a feeling of fear
- others don’t need us to be perfect and don’t believe themselves to be perfect either
Work is oftentimes a collaboration. Try to keep that spirit and vibe of collaboration and collegiality (I had to look that spelling up) with you as you work. Try to avoid making your work into an emotional battle or an imaginary war. Then find your flow and keep going until you’re done!
Is there someone you are “afraid” of now? Can you remind yourself that the person waiting to hear from you wants you to succeed? Likes you? Struggles like you?
