I finally stopped buying into the '5-minute favor' trend for community help

Everyone keeps pushing that you just need to ask for small favors and good things will happen. But after 3 years of running a neighborhood help group in Phoenix, I've seen it backfire more than it works. People get burned out doing 50 quick favors a week and nobody actually solves the big problems. A guy last month asked 10 people for '5 minutes of advice' and ended up with 10 half-baked ideas instead of one real solution. Why do we keep acting like small favors are better than actually spending an hour on something that matters?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_elliot6d ago

Watched my neighbor spend two weeks hopping between 5-minute coffee chats about fixing his leaky roof and ended up with a tarp that still flaps in the wind. I'm the guy who once asked for "quick advice" on jumpstarting my truck and got 12 different YouTube links before someone just came over and showed me in 10 minutes. My own advice is usually worth about what you pay for it, which is nothing, so I'm probably part of the problem here. Small favors feel productive but they're like trying to patch a tire with a bandaid, looks good at first but you're still stranded on the side of the road.

wyatt_shah856d ago

Small favors treat symptoms but that guy needed a proper diagnosis, not bandaids.