This morning, I was starting on a new frontend task that forced me out of my comfort zone a little. The going was slow because I was so unfamiliar with that part of the code & the right patterns to use.
I was barely starting to poke around with the task before standup. No changes committed yet. Only initial exploration.
My team is facing a big product launch next week. There are just a few remaining release-blocking items. My slow, unfamiliar frontend ticket is one of them.
There was another release-blocking ticket that is challenging, but totally within my skillset to figure out. It involves database migrations & reworking the logic given a new data model.
Another member of my team would definitely be better equipped to take on my original ticket - the one that was out of my comfort zone.
So, we swapped! He took that ticket (& finished it in the same day). I'm currently part-way done with the challenging migration.
The lesson is not: never do things outside your comfort zone. Expanding your skills and understanding is a good thing! Plus, it keeps work interesting.
However, when there's a chance to use your unique skills for the overall good of the team, it's okay to trade work with someone who could do it better. We're closer to releasing the big new feature because we swapped tasks early.
(Maybe in the future, the best interest of the team will be for me to learn more frontend patterns. When that day comes, I'll be glad for the learning opportunity.)