When I was a less experienced
business builder,
I would commit to a project
for as long
as the project manager needed me.
This unfortunately meant
if I sought to leave the project,
I was letting that
project manager down.
I was being unprofessional.
Now, I only commit
to portions of a project
at a time.
I will commit to
gathering the assumptions
for a business plan,
for example,
but I won’t state that
I will craft that business plan.
Or I will craft the business plan
but not commit to
incorporating further revisions.
This allows me
to exit a project
with my professionalism
intact.
“Freelancers need to worry
about doing the right thing
as well as maintaining
their reputation.
Leaving a project in midstream
hurts your reputation,
and your promise
needs to mean something.
But sometimes we express
our fear of change
by sticking around longer
than we need to
and longer
than we promised to.
The magic of freelancing
is that projects end
but careers persist.
If you can walk away
from a project
at an end point,
it probably moves
your career forward
more smoothly
than if you develop the habit
of quitting in the middle.”
Consider committing only
to the tasks
that are necessary now.
Give yourself
the ability to exit
a project
gracefully.