Bad Habits to Break (at Work) Part 2

Here are two more habits to break or change, especially if you are part of Production in Vancouver's Animation industry.




In the last video we talked about:

  • Bringing more awareness to when we’re actually “busy”
  • Resisting having the last word or always having to be right
  • Saying folks/team/etc instead of 'guys'

Today, I’ve got a couple more habits for those of us in Production to break or change.

RELATED VIDEO: 3 Bad Habits to Break (at Work) Part 1



Habit 4: Improve your response time on messages

Think about it - when you finally ask for help, do you feel valued or important when you wait 45 minutes for a response? Of course not. Now, when someone asks you a question or for help you do not HAVE to answer right away—it’s true that it’s not always possible. 

However, you can ask them to nudge you in 10 minutes if you don’t respond, you can add a reminder to a calendar to respond to said artist, or use reminder functions within apps like Slack to ensure you get back to the person in question in a timely manner.

Habit 5: Say Perfectionist instead of OCD

This is similar to the first point in my last video of transitioning away from saying you’re “busy”. If you are a perfectionist or have high-standards, say so. Don’t laugh and say you are “OCD”, unless you actually do have OCD, of course.

“OCD” is an acronym for the mental health condition called “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.” Frequent symptoms of folks who have this condition can include a great interest and need for symmetry and exactness, as well as a need for perfection. 

I had an acquaintance once who was diagnosed with OCD. They were suffering immensely, and they told me that they felt like they had a disease that everyone wants...except for the people who actually have it. On the surface, being especially concerned with cleanliness, orderliness, and hygiene are all good things in our society, especially in these COVID times. 

In Production, we are similarly concerned with organization, streamlining processes, and tidy documentation. We tend to be perfectionists to varying degrees, and it can be easy to laugh off our high standards as symptoms of a real mental health condition. Saying you’re OCD when you’re not , in my opinion, is about as dated as saying you’re “retarded.”

I invite you to think - is it REALLY going to break your heart to shift from saying you’re “so OCD” to saying you’re a perfectionist? The reality is we know better. So be better.


RESOURCES


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