Who Do You Blame for Missing Self-Imposed Deadlines?
There are two things I miss about working in a team: having an IT department and having someone to blame when things go wrong. Can you Ctl+Alt+Delete it all?
If I were building a list of things I miss about working in an office, having an IT department would be top.
I changed Internet providers a few months ago and thought I had connected all of the necessary devices to the new Wifi. Then I went to print something.
My wireless printer simply refuses to connect to the new Wifi. I’ve tried multiple times. I spent an afternoon with the robo-chat attempting to fix the problem through AI.
It did not go well.
I miss taking the uncooperative advice to the basement, handing it to someone who speaks computer and leaving it to them to figure it out. It’s always faster than me trying to figure it out or finding new, more specific ways to describe the problem to the Robo-fixer via chat.
I would fire an IT professional for this level of incompetence. But in this case, the IT guy is me.
This pales in comparison to the frustrated blame game of the missed deadlines I had for my business.
Launching a mini-course on how to use TV production tricks to elevate your screen presence? Sure, I built the mini-course. It’s even published. But did I get around to building my reputation for having this expertise? Not since June. I haven’t even updated my sales page with the glowing reviews I got from a sample of free trials.
Updating my website with the new skills I’m developing with my first client? Nope, haven’t done that either.
Have I developed anything to help sell my pitch for a spring/summer travel series on dog-friendly destinations across Canada? Nope. I haven’t even booked a mini-RV vacation to see if the dog and I can handle a trip like that.
Instead I gave full-time attention to a part-time job and filled what little free time I had securing my first client.
In short, I made all of the first-time entrepreneur mistakes I’ve read about so often.
- I said yes to too many things
- I was unrealistic with time management
- I lost sight of my goals
In my formal life as a manager, I spent many hours on how to council someone who is underperforming and needs to recalibrate to the company objectives. How do I now do this on myself?
“Boss Me” wants to blame the lack of progress on “Direct Report Me”, while “Direct Report Me” wants to rage at unexpected work loads. We could bring in another team member to help carry the load, but at this stage of my business, that’s “Associate Me”.
At this point all I can do is reboot my creative projects. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Shifts at my part-time job have fallen off dramatically after the federal election. Entire days are opening up in my calendar again, which means I’ll have time to refocus on these projects without eating up all of my downtime.
Another valuable skill I learned as a manager was when to move the deadline. An employee under pressure will always dig in and force something to work, which may just compromise the quality of work delivered. But if you can hit pause on something, giving yourself the breathing room to start over, you’re now setting them up to succeed.
This is a gift “Direct Report Me” can look forward to at the end of this month. Now it’s up to “Boss Me” to protect this time and set up for success.
