You should piss you off

Divemaster · 11-10-2016, 20:04

...if you've been putting things off.

Mini rant launching in 3, 2, 1

Lately I've been running into excuses. Contractors who are supposed to be working on my house calling 45 minutes after the scheduled arrival time just to tell me they can't make it today because the other job ran late. Professionals who can't deliver on deadlines promised weeks in advance. I could go on, but why offer more excuses for my own rant?

Can I turn this into a positive? Hell, I'll give it a shot. I can't control some of these outside events (which REALLY sucks for an SF dude), but perhaps I can offer some unsolicited advice. It is worth exactly what you paid for it.

1. Motivation. A luxury you can't afford. If you wait for the motivation to do something essential, well, it ain't getting done. You just have to do it, whether you feel like it or not. It will suck while doing it, but damn the worse it sucks makes that feeling of accomplishment so much sweeter. This is a universal principle no matter if it is changing your oil yourself, getting a second job to pay for necessities, or finishing your college degree.

2. Perfect. This is the mortal enemy of good. A good plan ready for execution now will languish and see people die while waiting for that perfect plan to get staffed and gain execution authority. In civilian life this translates into that hesitation to get something done now when you could think about (paralysis of analysis) how to do it even better much further down the road.

3. Tomorrow. Not a goddamn thing ever happened tomorrow. Tomorrow is as fictitious as the Game of Thrones dragons. Dates, schedules, and lists are real. If you believe in them, things will get done.

ETA 4. Responsibility. It's yours whether you want it or not.

Rant over. If you don't like my rant, I'll answer your complaints tomorrow when I get the motivation to compose a perfect reply.

DM out.

Bison · 11-11-2016, 01:39

As someone going through the same shit with contractors and dealing with a massive amount of people making excuses for everything they can, I really liked your rant.

Trapper John · 11-11-2016, 04:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divemaster

...if you've been putting things off.

Mini rant launching in 3, 2, 1

Lately I've been running into excuses. Contractors who are supposed to be working on my house calling 45 minutes after the scheduled arrival time just to tell me they can't make it today because the other job ran late. Professionals who can't deliver on deadlines promised weeks in advance. I could go on, but why offer more excuses for my own rant?

Can I turn this into a positive? Hell, I'll give it a shot. I can't control some of these outside events (which REALLY sucks for an SF dude), but perhaps I can offer some unsolicited advice. It is worth exactly what you paid for it.

1. Motivation. A luxury you can't afford. If you wait for the motivation to do something essential, well, it ain't getting done. You just have to do it, whether you feel like it or not. It will suck while doing it, but damn the worse it sucks makes that feeling of accomplishment so much sweeter. This is a universal principle no matter if it is changing your oil yourself, getting a second job to pay for necessities, or finishing your college degree.

2. Perfect. This is the mortal enemy of good. A good plan ready for execution now will languish and see people die while waiting for that perfect plan to get staffed and gain execution authority. In civilian life this translates into that hesitation to get something done now when you could think about (paralysis of analysis) how to do it even better much further down the road.

3. Tomorrow. Not a goddamn thing ever happened tomorrow. Tomorrow is as fictitious as the Game of Thrones dragons. Dates, schedules, and lists are real. If you believe in them, things will get done.

Rant over. If you don't like my rant, I'll answer your complaints tomorrow when I get the motivation to compose a perfect reply.

DM out.

Badger52 · 11-11-2016, 05:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divemaster

...when I get the motivation to compose a perfect reply.

DM out.

Your 80% executable was eloquent. Put the effort towards something rather than the casualty-causing "waiting for perfect."
Nice job.

Hell, waiting for perfect is what kills trees with all the paper needed to make slides for a 100+ page CONOP, no?