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Anne Gennett
The Bologna Question
Having a good system is like living with a gourmet kitchen. You can’t make a soufflé if all you have is a spoon, a baking dish and a pot holder. Okay, maybe Emeril could (BAM!), but the rest of us don’t stand a chance. So, we’re all serving our guests bologna sandwiches because we’re not prepared to do anything more complex when they show up unexpectedly.
Your work systems are the same. If you don’t take the time now, how will you ever be ready to handle the unexpected when it arrives? I sometimes find people who don’t see the point of spending time to create a system to handle all their stuff. They’ve got a to-do list (or several to-do lists, somewhere on their desk), they have some things filed and some in stacks and can usually find what they need, after some searching. Nothing big is getting dropped, and most of the surface things move along. So, they ask me, what’s the point of spending time, any time, to create something different?
Because somewhere down the road, there will come along, by your choice (but usually not,) something that blows you out of the water, and you no longer have the time to find all the lists or search through the piles. Time is crunched, deadlines are NOW!, adrenaline is pumping, stress is building. It may be short-term or not, doesn’t matter. Are you prepared to handle it? Or would investing some time before the fact make it a little easier?
Whatever you do, whether it be creating a total “to-do” list and keeping it current, creating a basic filing system, so you can find things fast and easy, or even just starting with an in box where you’re collecting everything into one place, so it can be processed later. These are all great investments, done now, so when the big thing comes (Bam!….sorry Emeril), you’re ready. Why not relax knowing you could whip up a soufflé if you wanted to….it might make that bologna sandwich taste all the better!
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