When work is delayed, check ownership, dependencies and capacity before deciding that the problem is personal procrastination. Then name the part you can move forward. A stalled project and an avoided task can look similar from the outside while requiring different responses.
Classify the blocker before escalating yourself
| Situation | Question to ask | Possible next move |
|---|---|---|
| Missing decision | Who can decide, and by when? | Send a bounded decision request |
| Unclear deliverable | What will the recipient accept? | Agree on completion criteria |
| Competing commitments | Which priority comes first? | Ask the owner to resolve the tradeoff |
| Feasible task repeatedly avoided | What do I do instead? | Define one visible output and start it |
The table is an original operational framework. It does not diagnose why a coworker delays or prove that an organization has supplied adequate resources.
Keep a dependency register
Record Task | owner | required input | input owner | requested date | due date | available partial work | next update. Use actual names and dates in your private project record, not vague notes such as “waiting on people.”
A fictional example: Dana owns a sales forecast due Wednesday. Product quantities are available; the pricing decision is missing. Dana can calculate the quantity scenario and request a price decision by Tuesday noon. The missing price is real, and the available partial calculation is also real.
Use Authorship without claiming total control
Kerub's model asks you to keep your own part in the sentence. Her chapter on “It Just Happened” examines language that erases decisions and inaction. It does not mean you are responsible for a supervisor's choices or must accept impossible workloads. [A_EGO:12]
Compare “The report got delayed” with “I did not request the missing price until today; I can finish the quantity section now.” The second statement is useful because it identifies action. If the request was sent on time and ignored, say that accurately too.
An update that makes the next decision easier
The quantity section is complete. The final revenue calculation
needs the price decision requested Monday. Please confirm option
A or B by noon Tuesday. If it arrives then, I can send the full
draft Wednesday. If not, I will send the quantity scenario and
identify the unresolved price assumption explicitly.This original example reports the work, dependency, decision and consequence. It avoids claiming that everything will somehow work out while the critical assumption remains unknown.
Check your own substitute activity
When the required inputs exist, notice whether inbox checks, unnecessary formatting or repeated status conversations displace the task. Choose a feasible work interval and tangible output. Keep legitimate quality review and essential communication.
At the end of the week, review repeated blockers and recurring avoidance separately. A calendar technique cannot repair a missing decision right, and a better workflow cannot automatically remove every personal difficulty.