What would I do? I first of all would set realistic goals for my subbie to accomplish. I do not intentionally try to give her things she will fail at. That, in my opinion, would make neither of us happy. If you can't discuss such terms with your Dom then I guess you must quit wasting time banging your head against the wall and become that quick learner you mention. If what he has asked of you is truly unable to be accomplished then you really need to sit down and have a serious discussion. Of course I'm sure you already know this but communication is always of utmost importance. If my sub was unhappy worrying about tasks that I assigned her I would surely want to know about it. I'm not saying I would necessarily change anything I thought was reasonable but I would want to be aware of her feelings in the matter to assure she knew my reasons for her to do certain tasks. Don't know if this helps at all but it is my opinion.

OH by the way, I totally agree with his j.