Lately, I have been wondering what I would do with all the free time I would have in my life, if I only had to do things once, instead two or three times, to get things right.
Let me clarify. As I have recently examined how I spend my days, it appears that I have to "re-do" many tasks that I think are finished. My life is complicated and busy enough to begin with. In fact, I have a 16 page, "To-Do" list that helps me track my various business, charitable, and social interests.
I usually start off each week with a general idea of where I intend to invest my available time and effort. The plan is based on commitments, interest, momentum, priorities, time lines, and window of opportunity. However, what continues to catch me off guard is that, when I plan my days and weeks, I forget about allotting time for unforeseen circumstances, initiated by others, and even more, for the need to revisit tasks that I thought were completed and already crossed of my to-do list.
As I have been pondering this issue of late, I realize that I arrive here because of a couple of key factors. It all boils down to communication, competence, trust, and follow through. While it might not all be my fault, it might be my responsibility, even if these are difficult considerations to assess and address.
If I want to make things better, easier, and better for my life, then I will have to do a better job communicating from day one, and assessing other people's ability to understand what is involved, trust in their competence, and ability to follow through as we agreed and when we agreed. There are no short cuts.
When it comes to communication, I have realized that its important to communicate to all involved, up front, to make sure all concerned have a chance for input, to be fair, so that any stragglers cannot derail the momentum of a task downstream.
I make mistakes because I am in a hurry, and don't consider all the "pros" and "cons" of an issue carefully, before I make a decision. Its this "buyers remorse" or additional input that complicates issues and pushes me to revisit my decisions and tasks. If I commit to this vetting earlier in the process, I will probably save myself a lot of anguish.
Of course, trusting others to do their part is equally frustrating. Especially if you are unfamiliar with them.
For example, I recently purchased a new bed. The salesperson and I arranged to have it delivered on a certain date, but he needed to check with shipping, etc and he agreed to call me, by a certain date, to verify the information, and tell me for certain that the bed would be delivered on a certain date, and at a certain time. I expected him to do this, but he didn't call me on the date he told me he would, and he hasn't called since either.
The delivery date is approaching fast. Now, I find myself having to track him down to be certain. I don't know if the bed is coming or not. I don't know how to schedule my day. He has not been back to work and others at the bed store cannot seem to understand the paperwork. When I call, he is on the phone and they say he will call right back. He doesn't. I call back and he is now at lunch. They will take a message. No call. When I call again, he has gone home for the day. What should have been a simple transaction has turned into a situation where I feel as if I am stalking the salesperson to get a simple answer, and I am spending far too much time stressing about it.
The bed example is just one little item that needs "re-doing" several times in my life. But it is symbolic of why I feel tired a lot. I am sure I'll get it sorted out today and everything will be fine. But what would I have done with all the extra time I would have had if things had worked out as planned? Ah, well, I guess that's life!
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