Occasionally I find myself committed to doing things that I really don’t want to do.
There was the recent holiday party that I was less than excited to go to as I had worked all day and just wanted to relax at home. There was the dinner with the friends of the family, which was all the way across town. And then there are the work projects that I maybe am not looking forward to; but already agreed to take on.
So what did I end up doing? I went to the holiday party, I attended the dinner and I finished the work projects to the best of my abilities.
Of course I became a bit wiser about the things I committed myself to doing– particularly work projects – but I held my word on my commitments.
Staying true to a commitment is something that needs to be considered by talents before they ever agree to take on an assignment.
This way (just as a hypothetical example) when you have a magazine photo shoot and a confirmed schedule for the photography team – you do not find yourself in the position of backing out the night before and breaking your commitment, thus leaving a hole in the photography team’s schedule with no way to fill it and a magazine project that now has to be rebooked and rescheduled.
I completely understand that there are going to be times when the project in front of you is not a dream come true. I’ve faced it many times myself as a professional. However – when you agree and commit to doing something and you back out (especially at a point in which you destroy the schedules of the entire production team) there are a lot of parties that are impacted.
Take the time upfront and before hand to determine the value of projects before you commit yourself and, if you do commit yourself – honor those commitments.
James Patrick
jamespatrick.com
facebook.com/jamespatrickphotography
instagram @jpatrickphoto
