Time To Panic?

Well, this is only my second post, and to be honest, I’m already a little short on ideas to blog about this time around. I really have been racking my brain trying to figure out something to say that people might look at and say, “Dang, this guy really gave me some inspiration this week.” Unfortunately, I don’t have any great words of wisdom this week. Although I was presented with a perplexing notion earlier this week, when I was told “Manage your time well, you’ve got some other stuff coming in.” As I thought about it, really, isn’t that what doing your job is all about, time management? But, even more perplexing to me, was the fact that a request to manage my time came in, yet, with the workflow we had coming in, it was something that was very difficult to do.

 Essentially, I understood the request at the basic level. Make sure you have all your Ps & Qs in order before this other project hits the frying pan. That’s all fine and dandy, but in our business, spot fires are always popping up here and there. There’s no guarantee that because this fire was put out immediately, that another one isn’t going to pop up just a few minutes down the line. Which essentially is the purpose of managing your time. There is no guarantee that a project will run smoothly, so get ready for the next fire. In the end I guess, it’s a matter of doing what you can to complete one project, while staying focused to adjust and meet the obligations of other items that might come into the mix that day. 

How do you do that? Well, to be honest, your guess is as good as mine. Simply put, I guess it’s like that life old adage of Carpe Diem. Seize the day. Or in this case, seize the moment. Grab what’s at hand and run with it. Sometimes a curve or two may come your way. Stay calm. It’s not life and death, it is only work. As simple as that may sound, it’s true. You really can only do your best work when you are calm and focused. It really doesn’t help anyone to get into a panic.

 I didn’t mean this to be a pep talk or a clichéd version of a blog entry. It’s more of a reflection on the way my week has progressed thus far. In a way, it’s a wake up call for me to realize that getting hot under the collar is probably only going to start another fire rather than put out the ones that already exist.  –David