Show Your Work – We Are Bad at Guessing

It’s tempting not to share your work

The world seems to value “easy” when it comes to creative work.

So, you tell yourself that it isn’t worth showing the hard work you did.

• The restless nights you spent answering emails instead of getting more shuteye.
• The time spent away from loved ones while you answered one more phone call.
• As a result of all these, you tell your boss that you’ve taken care of things and you are rewarded with more project assignments and less praise.

As a result, you tell your boss that you’ve taken care of it and your reward is often, more projects with less praise.

This result doesn’t make for a healthy work environment.

However, don’t take it as malicious.

Human beings do a horrible job at estimating the amount of work someone else did.

When you don’t show off what it takes, we assume it’s easy.

Take the time to mark down how long these things take. They help your boss understand how to manage and help you understand how to estimate (because we often misjudge time and estimates ourselves)

Know your worth, show your work.