Twitter: I am terrible at asking for help! I never think to do it. And when I do, I dismiss it, thinking “ah, it’s so much overhead to involve others that it’s easier to just handle myself.” But I’m sure I’m not asking nearly enough.
Help me! What strategies do you have here?
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These are helpful prompts! I think many of your allusions are right. Yes, I often don’t think to do it because I (sometimes rightly, often wrongly) assume I’ll get better results if I just do things myself. I do prefer to collaborate, but only as part of deep relationships.
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The overhead point is quite tricky. Part of my reaction is (sometimes unintentional) short-term discounting: stopping to think about how to frame a problem suitably for others feels like losing momentum. It also tends to increase variance, for better or for worse.
Unfortunately, stopping to think about how much overhead would be required to get help with something itself usually requires shifting gears, breaking momentum. And I’m often wrong (in both directions).
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Ironically, the thing I most need help with is being told where I should be asking for help.
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