The eyes and the mind can play tricks on you and on your ability to accomplish a days task successfully. Case in point; look at the picture to the left and make a note of what you see…..do you see the black dots? Are they there or is it just in your mind? Stuff like this happens on a daily basis when we allow the mind to wander—> the eyes will see what the mind reveals, and you will believe this as fact. How does this factor into the work day? Simple…

You make a “To-Do” list at the start of the day with your Top 5 tasks for the morning. While working on the list, you get the feeling that you put the jobs in possibly the wrong order of importance. Two things have just happened: You commence to question yourself (after all you did put them in that order for a reason) and you start to work faster to complete the goals on time; unfortunately you probably start to cut corners because your concentration has been rattled. Rather than taking a step back (and possibly enjoy a deserved coffee break), you push forward AND probably try to do two jobs at once, doubling the amount of space your mind has reserved for judgement and superb work. Trying to do anything but your best leads to a second place effort; and eventually a lack of production.

Try and maintain your focus, complete your job list as you planned, and move on. No-one ever got blamed for taking longer to do a job (within reason and budget) provided it has been done stellar and to the best of their ability. That being said- there are going to be times where a balancing act will be necessary. At this time the best action is to try and find similar points where the two jobs intersect and at that time, switch between one and the other. Creativity is key as you need to make the tasks appear seamless to your team; almost like you really had planned it that way. Try (as hard as it will be) to keep these occasions to a minimum; after all- that’s why you have a job list and a pen: order and re-order as required.

If you can, involve the rest of your team. This will actually cut down the total time if they are on board and understand how/when/where you need help. It also looks good in the end and for everyone involved if the final results are gleaming and a good reflection of the hard work undertaken.

Have a great weekend and until next week that has been “Something to Think About”

©2011 thedanieljsmith