Status And Stuck
When you are working on something for somebody else, the person who gave you the work is sitting in silence wondering what is happening. They cannot see your screen. They cannot see your notebook. They are imagining the…
There is more than one way to understand this. If you have only been taught one, you have been taught less than you deserve.
There is more than one way to understand this. If you have only been taught one, you have been taught less than you deserve.
When you are working on something for somebody else, the person who gave you the work is sitting in silence wondering what is happening. They cannot see your screen. They cannot see your notebook. They are imagining the worst. The cure for this is the status update, and it is the single cheapest professional skill you can build at age 13.
A good status update has exactly three lines. One: what I finished since I last spoke to you. Two: what I am doing next. Three: what is in my way, or 'nothing in my way'. That is it. No paragraphs. No excuses. No long explanations of why life is hard. Three lines. Send it before they have to ask. Sending it before they ask is the whole game.
Now the harder part. Saying 'I am stuck' feels like weakness. In Pakistani households especially, there is a voice that says, why can you not do this small thing, your bhai used to do it. Ignore that voice. Saying you are stuck early is the most professional thing you can do. Saying you are stuck late, on the day of the deadline, is what amateurs do. Stuck is not a failure. Hidden stuck is the failure.
Today's habit. Pick one open task somebody else is waiting on you for. Right now, send a three line status update. 'Done X. Doing Y. Stuck on Z, or nothing in the way.' Notice how the other person's reply is almost always lighter and warmer than you expected. Status updates buy you trust. Trust is the currency of getting bigger work later.
Estimated time: 12 min