4 ms·
A quick question from a fellow engineer is almost always quick; unfortunately, that's not the case for most other situations.
by rednafi 2y ago
A quick question from a fellow engineer is almost always quick; unfortunately, that's not the case for most other situations.
- TeMPOraL 2y agoA "quick question" from non-engineers (and even fresh engineers not yet used to the idea of focusing on work at work, or in general people who don't understand they're not the centre of the world) is usually carrying within it a request (or demand) to do something for the other person. A genuine "quick question" is one to which a quick "I don't know" or "not now!" is an acceptable answer. Those are easy to navigate - if you feel like considering it fully will break your focus, you can just decline answering it. If you can't, it means the question is really a disguised attempt to offload work onto you; engaging with it is giving permission to the other party to pull you in and try to keep you there.