Make It Work
ARE YOU firing on all cylinders or do you keep stopping for a pit stop after every lap? These are questions that you really need to ask yourself if you want to make a success of your career and work. I work as fast and efficiently as I can and though I do make mistakes these are so far and few between that they make really no difference. I always tell people that I am the laziest person in this world and when they demur I tell them that my favourite pastime is to put my feet on the table and relax. Since our family has this tradition about not putting one's feet on paper, I never do unless it is totally clear of any paper and since slipping it into the shredder is not an option, I find I need to clear it faster than it builds up so that I can catch forty winks in the gaps - and believe me, I actually end up finding the time to do just that.
I find that I can work to any deadline only because I never rush myself into a frenzy of apprehension. I always negotiate for time, get it, and never use it. I like to be two jumps ahead of breakdown and always am. The moment I am given something to do I begin on planning how it can be done in the shortest time possible. I ask if it is important or urgent or both. And then approach the whole thing rather like a motor race. If we spent more time thinking of ways to get work done rather than whine and whinge our way out of it, who knows, we might actually get it done!
I barrel through my work at a great rate and send it to the person who has to review it. Since I am blessed with a reviewer who is slower than I am, I find myself with a swathe of free time to indulge myself in my favourite pastime. I find that I just cannot do more than I'm doing - there may be people that do, but these are the kind that are not doing their utmost to begin with. There is really nothing wrong with that, it is just that it seems, to me, to be less than efficient. There are those that believe that God and Company Law have decreed that any work for the day has to be done in the eight hours provided for it- perhaps not more, but essentially not less. I believe that if I can get it done in a lot less, I have loads more time to do what I like doing. For the most part, I'm on cruise control, just seeing the sights when a job lands up I move into overdrive - and if anyone wants to get rid of work faster than it builds up, then overdrive it has to be!
Get the GPS ticking! To get from point `A' to point `B' the best way is to call in the GPS high up there in geo-stationary orbit in space - your mindspace, that is! Find out the fastest, least congested route to get what you want to do done. Whom do you need to involve, whether they are free, what they need to do, and how fast they can do it - given their predilection for procrastination. Checklist made, move into execution mode
Gear up right - don't get `tight'. It is important to step up your tempo stage by stage, rather like changing gears from neutral to top gear. You cannot do everything at once - simply because you cannot get it all done efficiently. Ergo, take it one mile at a time and make `destination points' to check your progress. When you get to the first of these, take a breather and check to see what the others assigned to help you are doing. Nothing intrusive, just a `help-out' drive-by. Trying to change gears while eating your breakfast, tuning the radio and cootchie-cooing to the girl back home satisfies no one, especially the girl back home!
Hurry Makes Worry. There is really no point racing away and then sitting around waiting for people to catch up - stick to an agreed speed limit where you can cross check with your team engaged in the same project. Remember what happens when you exceed the speed limit? You get pulled over for speeding and you end up spending hours explaining why. Keep it down but focus on the steady speed rather than spurts of hurry when you think the dopplers are down
Avoid Seductive Shortcuts. Having planned your journey, try not to deviate because you have planned the route with the best equipment there is - your brain. There may be, you think, a quicker way to get to the finish, but remember if you go by that road, you will have to slow down to take the bumps that might be there. It is tempting, but it really is not wise. Stick to the pre-planned route and be sure. Do not stop for chats, re-strategising, gossiping or convince yourself that you need the detour. Trust me, you really do not. It is all an excuse for malingeringCheck the Springs. Do not try to do more than what your vehicle can take. No point trying to enhance the effect while you are coasting along just fine. Why? Simply because one small change when things are on schedule and working well will necessitate a change in plan which means delay and unforeseen glitches that have not been thought through. Go along the path that you have found and avoid the shady detour you saw on the way - it has not been tested and the next bridge may have been washed away
Easy Stages. Pace yourself and get your work done - so many of us work the whole day and get nothing done, it is like running really fast to stay in the same place. Focus on the goal and arrive at it in good time, leaving yourself the much needed rest and relaxation at the end of it! Be as lazy as I am, by going into overdrive when there is work to do and lapsing into total relaxation when there really is nothing to do. Recoup your energy and spend time with your favourite person - yourself!
P.S. A final word of warning, total relaxation is tough to do because once you have done all the work - be sure about it, your boss is going to load you up all over again!
P.P.SHARPE
DrWise@sify.com
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