Saturday, July 05, 2008
Reading Too Much Into Things
I have this almost obsessive habit of looking at a small thing and interpreting from it lessons on a larger scale.
I was just sitting at my kitchen table, jotting some thoughts in my notebook; the table has become my writing desk by default while I work valiantly (i.e. procrastinate) to organize all the shit on my actual desk.
I brought my laptop to the table from the other room and, in the process of putting it down, knocked over a glass of milk. The table, of course, was covered in a variety of electronic devices (iPod, digital voice recorder, speakers for the laptop, etc.) and, in case you're just joining this millennium, liquids are bad for electronics. But you'd never guess that from the way I reacted to the spill.
One of the first things I did, after rescuing the iPod, was to start cleaning up the milk that had dribbled on the floor. This was while most of the electronic stuff was still on the table and, by that point, getting wet from the milk. I grabbed a few more electronics, dried them off, then went about cleaning up the milk on the table WHILE STILL MORE ELECTRONICS WERE SITTING IN MILK.
The moral of the story, dear children, is that I didn't take a step back and assess the situation. I didn't think, "OK, what needs to be done first? What are my priorities?" Instead, I just worked on whatever my eyes fell on next. I thin this unorganized approach has a significant (and negative) impact on my work life.
I was just sitting at my kitchen table, jotting some thoughts in my notebook; the table has become my writing desk by default while I work valiantly (i.e. procrastinate) to organize all the shit on my actual desk.
I brought my laptop to the table from the other room and, in the process of putting it down, knocked over a glass of milk. The table, of course, was covered in a variety of electronic devices (iPod, digital voice recorder, speakers for the laptop, etc.) and, in case you're just joining this millennium, liquids are bad for electronics. But you'd never guess that from the way I reacted to the spill.
One of the first things I did, after rescuing the iPod, was to start cleaning up the milk that had dribbled on the floor. This was while most of the electronic stuff was still on the table and, by that point, getting wet from the milk. I grabbed a few more electronics, dried them off, then went about cleaning up the milk on the table WHILE STILL MORE ELECTRONICS WERE SITTING IN MILK.
The moral of the story, dear children, is that I didn't take a step back and assess the situation. I didn't think, "OK, what needs to be done first? What are my priorities?" Instead, I just worked on whatever my eyes fell on next. I thin this unorganized approach has a significant (and negative) impact on my work life.
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I tend to the same thing, but luckily for me two years of EMS training really breaks you of that. I still had a moment of tunnel vision once in a while, but you really become disciplined to "triage" when there's people screaming and bloody everywhere on the side of a highway. :)
Seriously though, if you've ever had a CPR class you are well on the way of training yourself to prioritize. ABCs - airway breathing circulation (although I've heard they've changed it). What good is dressing a cut on the leg if the person has no pulse? If you (and I) can continue to find a way to apply that to your life - it works.
Seriously though, if you've ever had a CPR class you are well on the way of training yourself to prioritize. ABCs - airway breathing circulation (although I've heard they've changed it). What good is dressing a cut on the leg if the person has no pulse? If you (and I) can continue to find a way to apply that to your life - it works.
Organized thought is not a natural thing, not something that you are born with. It is a discipline, like almost everything else that sets us apart from our co-animals. It is a practice and must be willfully exercised every day if you want it to come easily.
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