Do you have kids? I’ve got two wonderful kiddos, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. They each have their gifts and talents, and just a small handful of “areas for improvement.” Specifically, the younger one has a focus and attention span problem. He’s a boy – go figure, right? The other day we’re doing the nightly drill. Here’s how the conversation goes -- verbatim (he’s nine by the way):
“It’s time to get ready for bed, bud. You need to take a bath – wash your hair with shampoo and bath your whole body, including under your arms. Can you repeat that to me? Great. Be sure to dry your body and hair off with your towel and then hang it up. Oh yeah, and you need to put your clothes in your hamper, and make sure the bathroom is clean. Son, what did Dad say? Ok, great – see you in a few. You need to be done by 8 o’clock, so get going!”My wife and I have had this conversation probably 1,000 times. Same drill, same words, same results. Without fail, however, he comes down with soaking wet hair, and soaking wet clothes, considering he forgot to dry off. He still smells faintly of something “outside,” and upon inspection, the bathroom is a war zone. His clothes are on the floor in his room, always inside out, and they’re mixed in with the books and toys that are strewn all over the floor. Mind you, his room was clean 30 minutes before, but who am I to judge?
So what happened? Granted, he’s nine, but I’ve also seen this same production over and over at work and in life (ok, maybe not the exact same, but hopefully you get my point). Have all those video games, iPhones, “CrackBerries” and 50 voicemail boxes distracted us from being razor focused? Why is it so hard to convey a message and get things accomplished correctly the first time? “Well, it just is, you knucklehead, and move over – I can’t see the TV!”
Huh? Listen, I know it’s hard, and frankly your boss may the problem (really?). But if you’re going to be a rising star in your company, you need to be able to get things done quickly and accurately, and you need to go the extra mile.
Here are some tips that may work in business and in life:
1. Clear your mind. Literally – you have to stop all those thoughts racing around in your head and save room for what you are about to hear. This can be hard when you have a ton of deadlines looming, your kids have that science project due tomorrow, and your wife needs you to cut the grass. But try it, ok? It helps a lot.
2. Look people in the eye and focus. People get annoyed when you don’t look them in the eye when they are talking to you. It comes off as disrespectful. Close your laptop, turn towards them with pen in hand, and give them your attention.
3. Listen and repeat back what you heard. Simple, right?
4. Carry a small notepad in your back pocket with a small pen. When your boss hits you up at the water cooler with something to do that “just can’t wait,” you can write it down so you won’t forget.
5. Ask questions so you understand what you need to do and perhaps why. The “why” part is your call depending on the nature of the task. If your boss asks you to weather strip his house, a why question is definitely in order.
6. Learn to say “No.” Yes. I mean, yes, you heard that right. Sometimes, there are things that you don’t need to do right now or ever. If you are always saying yes to every request that comes your way, people will take advantage of you. You have to protect your time.
7. When appropriate, delegate the task to someone else. This is Leadership 101, and your boss and others will look to see how you handle your workload. People want to see how you can manage the work effort amongst your team, and the way you do that is by delegating tasks to others so they can grow and learn.
8. Prioritize. You don’t have to do everything now. That goes without saying, but sometimes you get frazzled because it seems like everything is piling up with no place to go. List out all your tasks in your favorite planner or your trusted notebook, assign an A-B-C priority to each one, and give them a deadline. Remember to delegate those tasks to others that you see fit, then determine what you need to accomplish today. Voila.
9. Just Tune Out. “I’m sorry, what did you say? Seriously, are you nuts?” No, this is great advice. Sometimes, you don’t have to pay attention (I’m not referring to your boss, of course). This is not your fight. So go ahead, think about your weekend plans, your tennis date, or don’t think at all. Feels good, doesn’t it?
10. Don’t tune out your wife, either. (Had to put that since she reads my blog.)
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