Never Underestimate the Power of You

Blog soundtrack:



Blog dedication: For Jeff, who now has a blog!

As I mentioned last week, I have a chance to do a bit of contract technical writing. I was sent the documentation yesterday and asked to come up with an estimate of how long it would take me to update the guide. I thought, “No prob!”

But, there was a problem.
I had a problem.
What was my problem?

Today my problem was, and perhaps it was a life-long problem, that I totally underestimate myself when it comes to estimation and my estimation of myself. And at 9am, I thought, “Oh my Great Cat Goddess! How will I do this? Can I do this? Immediately, I answered myself with, "Don't use the Great Cat Goddess's name in vain," “I have no idea,” and “No!”

Well, when I was a full-time tech writer, I had to come up with documentation plans. But, it seemed far easier then, because I knew the material well. It’s a far greater task when the material is foreign to you, and you have to figure out exactly how much to charge or you might end up working for $4 an hour instead of $40!

Sometimes, when faced with something I’ve never done before, I immediately have a bad case of freeze tag. I’ve been tagged, and I sit there frozen in place listening to the voice in my head saying, “No way. You cannot do that.” Today, when trying to estimate how long it would take me to update this guide, I knew it was an episode of Monday Night Raw. Today's line-up was the Tentative Tech Writer versus Vicious Vacillating Voices!

So, what do you do when you’re unsure? You are exactly right. I am unsure; therefore, I google. I searched for the estimated time such an endeavor might take. Somehow after using the “estimates,” I ended up with documentation + updates = 7 months! I knew that wasn’t right. Regroup and retreat from google!

I then went back to something Suzebabe always says to me which is, “Always go with your gut.” I don’t know if it was being older or this last year had made me fearless. I think it was the latter; thus, my gut shouted back loudly to the voice in my head, “Yes way! You can do this!”

At 10am, there I was with only two sentences to describe the changes needed and a 137-page guide staring me in the face. So, I went through the book chapter-by-chapter, compared this to that based on the changes, and as the day went on, it began to look like I had estimates, realistic estimates.

To be honest, I did go into “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” mode twice, and I contacted two of my lifelines with questions. Actually, given what advice they offered, my gut was on the right track. Nevertheless, it’s always nice when you’re stressed to have two friends nearby, even if it is only just to have their words of encouragement propping you up in your chair in front of your laptop as you turn the pages of the guide thinking “Will this take me 10 episodes of Law & Order or 20?”

Sometimes it would seem the toughest battle you fight in life is the one against yourself; it’s you versus the little voices that say, “You can’t,” “You’ll fail,” and “How could you wear the vintage houndstooth suit without the houndstooth shoes?!” Once I sent my estimates out the door, I realized that “I can,” “I’ll succeed,” and “I’ll never do that again, Cathy!” And, I won’t fight this battle with myself again. Okay, I probably will; however, I always plan on winning like I did today. ♥