Whenever I talk with Moroccan knowledge workers, I always get the same feeling: it’s hard to be productive in Morocco. Of course, there are many reasons for this—family, obligations, and so on. But there’s one thing that all these have in common.
When you try to get anything done in Morocco, you’ll quickly find yourself acting as a to-do list keeper for others. Most of your time will be spent nudging someone to complete their work, renegotiating timelines, and basically reminding them of what they said they’d do. Because, in addition to not keeping a to-do list, it’s rare that anyone keeps notes, too.
When this idea applies to a larger group like a country, everyone depends on others to keep their to-do lists organized. This creates a circular dependency that makes it very difficult to accomplish anything.
In this model, every task is achieved through “force.” Whether it’s by a deadline, a gentle reminder, or a hierarchy reminder. Whether you like it or not, you are also part of this model.
I don’t have a solution to this, and I don’t think anyone does. All I know is that those who stay positive about it just assume things will take twice as long as they should and start everything early.
What a pain.
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