 Some projects move easily toward completion. Others are more difficult, contain hidden obstacles, encounter resistance, take lots more time, or turn out far worse than you planned.
There could be many possible reasons for these differences, but a big category of likely reasons is contained in an image of projects I like to call “ripening.” Like a piece of fruit, projects progress along a spectrum of “readiness.” When projects are fully ripe they yield to easy efforts and produce satisfying results. When they’re unripe, there’s little or nothing you can do to make them turn out well.
Some people attribute this “ripening” to a process of unconscious preparation and development that goes on in your head, rather than in the project. And that’s certainly one possibility. But “ripening” covers a lot of other project characteristics, many of which are undeniably external and objective.
The most obvious example of this is something like a timely report you’re asked to prepare on a fast-changing situation. If you prepare it now for presentation next week, there’s a good chance your report will be out of date by the time you deliver it. The project won’t be “ripe” - that is, ready for you to work on it - until you get much closer to your scheduled delivery date.
Here are some suggestions for determining whether or not a particular project is “ripe” enough for your best efforts:
1. Does it contain all the necessary data? In fast-changing environments, you won’t know the details of most current situations until the last possible minute. In complex situations, there may be days or weeks of data gathering and analysis required before a project is ready for you to start work. In any case, starting to crunch the numbers before all the numbers are in place is a classic case of working on a project before it is “ripe.”
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 People skills. Collaboration. Group projects. Teams. Lately, business seem to have fallen in love with the idea of employees working together. The theory, apparently, is that two heads are better than one, and anything over three can’t help but produce something of genius.
In some ways, this point of view is understandable. After all, one person can have a crazy idea and just run with it, but if there are others around, they can rein that person in. Plus, with a group, things will be vetted as they move forward, making it more likely that the best ideas will rise to the top like the proverbial cream, right? Not necessarily.
The Loss of the Lone Genius
What all this togetherness doesn’t account for is the simple fact that some people just work better when they are off by themselves. In fact, more and more research is showing that some of the most creative individuals in any field are introverts that work far better when they are allowed to have privacy and freedom from interruption. These are “lone geniuses” who, by their very nature, just aren’t people who join with others. They are able to interact to the extent that they can share and advance their ideas by talking with people, but actually evolving those ideas with the hands-on help of others often ends up being detrimental.
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 Ever watch kids play? Most of the time, they’re intensely focused, giving it their all, and very close to shrieking or laughing with pleasure.
Adults at work? Not so much.
The difference comes not just from the ages, or from the external pressures that impact adults at work much more than kids at play.
Among the biggest differences are how much more closely kids’ play meshes with and engages their basic interests, preferences, and sources of pleasure. But this seems natural, since most times kids choose what they’re going to play, while adults most often work on tasks and projects handed to them by supervisors.
Unless you’re independently wealthy, it’s undeniable that (in the words of the classic lyric): “you’re taking what they’re giving ’cause you’re working for a living.”
However, despite what you and everyone else may think, you may not have to accept quite as many unwanted job elements you do. In many jobs, there is room not only for pushback, but for choice. And the more deeply you can tap into your unique personality, skills, and abilities, the more likely you are to find work that’s well suited to you, work that fewer people are capable of doing as well as you. That’s an advantage, because when fewer people can perform a job well, it generally carries more prestige and pay.
These simple truths offer a strategy for upgrading your job situation to be more personally satisfying. Here’s how to do it:
Phase 1
Start by re-learning who you are and what you’re most capable of doing well. Think back to your childhood, then your teen years, then your early adulthood, and so on until you reconsider the present. Look for patterns, themes, and tendencies. Were you always good at math? Did you find it easy to see the best way forward? Were you unwilling to give up on certain goals? Did you frequently lose track of time during one or two of your activities?
The person you were in years gone by offers wonderfully accurate clues to your inner nature, native skills, most exciting potential, and deepest interests.
These are the elements you should try to incorporate into your working life, starting right away.
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 You’ve likely heard about companies firing their employers for complaining about their jobs (or sometimes even just mentioning them) in their personal blogs. What you don’t hear as much about are the success stories. People who attract the attention of employers through their blogging.
Why would blogging make employers think that you’re the person for them? Maintaining a blog requires a certain kind of skillset and can translate into a number of workplace environments.
You have to know how to market… Obviously great for marketing positions, but really in any industry where you might be creating a presentation about something for your bosses (or their bosses), this is a great skill to have.
…and network. The way to get more hits on your blog is that same way you get ahead in the business world: network with the right people who are able and willing to lend a helping hand in exchange for you doing the same.
You have to be able to build and maintain relationships. In other words - people skills. Sure, you’re dealing with your readers virtually, but a lot of the same manners and protocols apply that do in the work place. Good people skills are always a sought-after skill.
You have to be able to clearly communicate. This applies to, oh, just about every job anywhere. Unless you’re working completely alone, you’ll need to talk to coworkers, delegate effectively to people below you, and explain to your superiors why you did or didn’t do what they asked of you. People who communicate well tend to do well.
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 The advice is well known: as soon as you’re back on the streets, looking for work, you:
- Update your resume
- Tweak your LinkedIn profile
- Browse the job boards
- Apply to every open position that makes sense
- Tell family, friends and professional colleagues that you’re looking
But there’s more you can do: Although Twitter is best known for silly, superficial, in-the-moment communications among people who know each other personally, it’s increasingly coming into use as a networking medium among people who have never met.
With Twitter accumulating active, involved users at a breath-taking pace, there are starting to be ways to use this communications channel for job hunting - ways that didn’t exist just a short time ago.
These include:
1) Tweet your needs to your friends and followers. It’s smart to use Twitter to let everyone in your network know you’re back in the hunt for a good position. Not only may you reach people not included in LinkedIn, Facebook, and your other networks, people who tweet are often an active, plugged-in group. In many cases, your contacts on Twitter will quickly offer you strong leads, or at least useful contacts, you can pursue as you search for your next job.
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