Dear Vany:

The example you gave in quotes, is “they” referring to a supervisor? If so, then you should be doing what he told you to do after that writing. You are supposed to follow instructions (aka orders) unless the instruction is to do something illegal.

If the instruction by your boss is what task to do next and that next task is not what you planned, then this is not the place to assert yourself. It is not your place to assert the order of tasks to be done with your boss.

Somehow, maybe through counseling with a career advisor or the like, learn regarding your current job who to assert yourself with and about what topics, when to follow instructions regardless of your evaluation that the instructions don’t make sense, when not.

You have multiple people you are dealing with at work and different assertive practice is needed with the different people.

Learn to be assertive in the context of your current job, for as long as you are there. Only it is not as simple a skill as you think it is because of the variety of people there: assertiveness with a co worker should be different from assertiveness with a superior at work.

And then it is the wording of an assertive statement and the follow up.

anita