Me, the Frustrating Plodder
Terry L. Mitchell
July 02, 2009
People often become frustrated with me because I´m such a plodder. In order for me to complete a task so that I will ultimately be satisfied with it, I cannot do it quickly. I need plenty of time to ponder the situation and be deliberate, with a lot of nitpicking along the way. Whenever I allow myself to be hurried along, I´m going to screw things up – guaranteed!
I recently hired a guy to design a new website for me. He got so annoyed with me that he almost quit before the job was over. What, in his opinion, should have taken mere days to complete went on for several weeks. Several phone conversations generally suffice for him to acquire the complete specifications from most of his clients.
But not from me. I was constantly changing the guidance via emails as I thought of various enhancements that I wanted. Specifying requirements for a website is a complete evolutionary process for me. There´s no way I can state what I want via a few short phone conversations. My ideas don´t come to me all at once. I get them in dribs and drabs. I´m never completely sure of what I want at first. I have to see or create something initially, and then improve upon it.
For example, it usually takes me a minimum of one hour to lay down just one paragraph when I am writing an article. Sure, I can write out a draft of it in minutes, but the rest of the time is spent correcting errors, optimizing my style, substituting words, and generally trying to come up with better ways to express my thoughts. In other words, I´m a bit of perfectionist and I´m not going to be satisfied with anything until it´s absolutely right (at least in my mind).
Everyone else will just have to excuse me while I take my own sweet time.
I recently hired a guy to design a new website for me. He got so annoyed with me that he almost quit before the job was over. What, in his opinion, should have taken mere days to complete went on for several weeks. Several phone conversations generally suffice for him to acquire the complete specifications from most of his clients.
But not from me. I was constantly changing the guidance via emails as I thought of various enhancements that I wanted. Specifying requirements for a website is a complete evolutionary process for me. There´s no way I can state what I want via a few short phone conversations. My ideas don´t come to me all at once. I get them in dribs and drabs. I´m never completely sure of what I want at first. I have to see or create something initially, and then improve upon it.
For example, it usually takes me a minimum of one hour to lay down just one paragraph when I am writing an article. Sure, I can write out a draft of it in minutes, but the rest of the time is spent correcting errors, optimizing my style, substituting words, and generally trying to come up with better ways to express my thoughts. In other words, I´m a bit of perfectionist and I´m not going to be satisfied with anything until it´s absolutely right (at least in my mind).
Everyone else will just have to excuse me while I take my own sweet time.