Reloading

This morning I received a research study. This was the study that I had completed in the past and I had been receiving similar type of studies from the researcher. I was able to successfully complete the studies in the past but today was going to be the test of my patience.

I accepted the study from my worklist. I was delighted to see the study and the corresponding compensation for it. It was a short study but it was going to pay me good amount. I definitely love such studies. I accepted the study and started working on that study.

The first minute of the study was excellent. Within a minute I was able to complete 40% of the study. I was really happy to see that progress. I knew that within the next minute I would be able to finish the study and I would get the compensation directly credited to my account. But then the disaster struck.

The research platform froze. After drafting the response I clicked on next. Then the page started loading. I was seeing 3 dots black, charcoal grey, and light grey proceeding to form a circle. These 3 dots went round and round. I kept staring at the screen as if I am witnessing a technological Garba. This went on for 5 minutes. I was still relaxed because I had 25 minutes in my hands.

5 minutes quickly became 10 minutes. The page was still loading. I checked my internet connection and found that there was no issue with it. Before starting the study I had cleared the browsing history hence there was no problem with my device is well. This is when the platform sent me a notification "we are facing some technical errorsband hence the studies may not get submitted". I saw this message and I immediately knew that I need to contact the system support team. I immediately clicked on the icon to proceed with submission of a technical ticket.

Meanwhile I had also been receiving the message from the researcher. The message read, "hi how long will you require to complete the study?"

I was already frustrated with the platform and now the researcher had been adding to my frustration. I replied, "the platform is stuck. I am with the technical support team. They are trying to help me. I will finish at soon as possible."

Five more minutes at gone and platform it's still not functional. My frustration was growing exponentially with every passing minute. It was a completely out of my control. I knew I could not do anything about it however the researcher was continuously messaging me and asking me if I had completed the task. I was getting irritated because of the constant interrogation by the researcher. I took a deepbreatg and messaged the researcher once again, "if the platform is not functioning I cannot do anything about it. I am not from the technical team hence if you have any concerns, better you get in touch with the support staff. It will be better for both of us to not discuss here and rather wait for the technical team to get the issue sorted. I hope you understand, " I was keeping my message polite but I was really angry with the researcher. At one point of time I felt that I should block the messages from the researcher. Unfortunately I could not do so.

2 hours later the issue still remains. The three dots are still dancing in front of me. I am still staring at those dots. The researcher is still texting me and I am ignoring their messages. This is the time then I felt that I am finally over the feeling of uncertainty that is beyond my control.