If it's so simple, why haven't you done it already?

I try to avoid the word simple when I am talking about someone else's work, by which I mean, something someone else is doing or more importantly something I am asking someone else to do. Every time someone says to me:

• I need you do this. It should be simple.
• I've got this simple/easy thing for you to do.
• Don't worry, it's simple.
• It's shouldn't take that long, it's simple

I know what they are going to ask me is not simple. When someone comes up to me with one of these lines I usually I think to myself, "If it is so God damn simple why are you asking me to do it? Why can you do it yourself?" Then I think, "You wouldn't say it's simple if you had ever done it before."

The truth of the matter is, it is not the giver, but the receiver who dictates what is simple. Yes, we know that solving a complex math equation is harder than picking all the red M&Ms out the candy bowl, but what if the person you are asking is color blind? Lastly, even if it is simple, it doesn't mean that it won't take time. Simple does not equal quick. It's pretty simple to go through the phonebook and count all Maryann's, but that doesn't mean it won't take a lot of time. I mean, have you picked up a phone book lately? There are a lot pages there.

So, the next time you think about asking someone to do something "simple" for you, I would recommend that you don't insult them by telling them how menial the task is that you can't bothered to do.