3 Levels of Difficulty

I’ve found that any work/job/project typically comes with 3 levels of difficulty.

The least difficult, or level 1, is generally managing the work itself. However complex the financial model or however difficult the code, unless you have taken on something that’s way beyond your level of competence, you typically crack it. Of course, you may get lots of help in the process but you’ll get it done.

The next level of difficulty, or level 2, is managing the people we work with. This involves managing expectations of bosses, colleagues, clients and the like. This is always pretty challenging because it requires the awareness that every person has a different style.

If all is well on this dimension, we hardly even notice it. But, but if all is not well (i.e. if we have the good luck to be surrounded by unreasonable bosses and difficult colleagues), no matter how easy the job itself, work-life can become a really difficult experience. Potentially character building, but still rather painful.

The most difficult of them all, or level 3, is managing ourselves. It doesn’t matter how great the work or the colleagues, if we can’t get stuff done or manage our behaviour, it is pretty much game over.

The reason this is the hardest is because this directly impacts levels 1 and 2. If we have a prioritization or procrastination or I-don’t-seek-help problem, expect managing the work to be an uphill task. And if we lack the requisite amount of self awareness or patience to deal with people we work with, then level 2 can be really difficult.

Either way, this frame really helps me re-think my internal blame game when things are tough at work.

It is nice to know that, at the end of the day, I hold the key to defining my experience. Maybe not the events, but definitely what I make of them a.k.a. the experience.

And, maybe, by taking control of the experience, I gradually have more control over the events. Just maybe..