Handling the Confusions of Work
Author: Faadiel Rehman

Seems that every time you look more closely you have more and more work to do. Things start to pileup; you start to feel a little pressure.

This is where stress comes into play at work.

Sometimes you are given specific tasks and duties at work that seem to take forever to handle.

You can do one of two things here: 1. Place the item in your desk drawer to do another day or 2. You can do it right now, get it done and out of the way so you can have some time to goof off.

Trust me no boss is ever going to yell at you or anyone else for that matter when you are goofing off after completing all of the required duties that your job demands.

Unless of course you are working for a slave driver and someone who does not understand the value of production and the value a person feels from completing tasks in a timely manner.

Sometimes we choose to leave the important duties for later and do the more trivial tasks now. We even often avoid difficult communications with others or we have not properly scheduled our time to do the things we need to do.

Doing this often enough can lead to very bad habits. Soon we start to forget the things we need to do.

From this will stem many of our working day problems. Tasks left undone, promises broken, not replying to letters or email. After a while the incomplete tasks begin to outweigh the completed tasks and from that point on we begin to worry.

It then becomes increasingly more difficult to complete those unfinished tasks, because new tasks and duties have been placed on top of the incomplete tasks.

The crunch time occurs when your boss or colleague asks you about a task that you should have finished a long time ago. They need it pronto… Panic sets in, you can briefly recall what you needed to do, but your notes for some reason have disappeared.

Now what?

Fortunately for you these problems have a solution. It’s obvious that duties and tasks stack up if we do not handle them as and when we should.

The piles of paper on your desk have accumulated because they have not been handled in the order in which they first arrived. Here’s the first clue to getting things done…

1. Don’t deceive yourself into believing that you will do it later, later is later and now is now and who knows, you may feel exactly the same way about doing it later and then put if off to do at an even later date. (So when it arrives and you have time on your hands, then do it NOW! Handle it completely, complete it NOW!)
2. When a new task arrives for you to do, then organize it now. Do you have a way to organize your work? If not go out and get a diary or use your computer to create a list of reminders and tasks. It’s simple since there are many software programs out there to help you do that and they work very well.
3. Handle all tasks this way: (a.) Complete it (b.) Delegate it (c.) File it (d.) Trash it if you don’t need it.

Complete the action. Here’s the sequence: you start something, you do the steps to complete it, and you stop. That’s how it works for any task or action ever! Start it, Follow the steps to complete it, And Stop.

Life works that way. Everything has a beginning, middle and an end EVERYTHING.

So it follows the sequence of “Begin – Continue – Cessation”.

So the basic and most important sequence here is DO IT RIGHT AWAY! If it’s a call you need to make, then make it right now. If you need to type letters then do it immediately. If it’s a decision about what you are going to do tonight then make the decision now.

Recall that in the Chapter on Solving Problem we discussed ways in which you could handle a problem. Imagine having to handle the problem of having all of your attention or forgotten about attention on tasks you needed to resolve weeks or even months ago.

The point is even if you do some sloppily you have at least accomplished something that followed the sequence of “Begin – Continue – Cessation”.

Your mind can adjust to that, but if there is no cessation then you are left in the Continue step of the sequence and the result is loss of focus or the ability to complete any other tasks that come your way.

So do it NOW when it arrives. Do it! Handle IT! If you can’t do it now then organize it well so you can do it after you have completed the sequence of action “Begin – Continue – Cessation” on other tasks that are of a more pressing nature.

If it is a task that you can delegate to someone else then delegate it immediately don’t wait to do it later. The person you decide to delegate it to might have a few tasks of their own that they need to do.

When you do delegate then get a firm date and time from the person on when they can it done. If you decide to file it away for later then put a definite date and time on it to indicate when you will complete it. That’s very important.

When you file something away with a date and time stamp then you have allocated a future time slot for it to be done and so it does not get forgotten. It’s interesting that we all like to innately finish the things we start good or bad.

So if you have allocated a time slot for it and when you next look at the filed item you will see the allocated timeslot and do the actions “Begin – Continue – Cessation” required, completing it.

But before you can file something away for a later or future timeslot you must decide what to do with it NOW! If it’s something you can do now then DO IT NOW!

The way to file things for later in your in basket should follow this order:
• Place them in your basket in order of importance
• Place them in a pending basket if you need to get more details on the task, but allocate a future timeslot to get more details on the task
• When it’s done it’s done! File it in your filing drawer NOW!

If you can’t do it this second then allocate a future date, delegate it or file!

Just make the decision on what to do with it immediately. I don’t mean make the decision to do it later without making first allocating a future timeslot.

So right now, take a look at your desk and handle all of those items you needed to handle but did not.

File them, allocate time slots to get them done, and place in your pending basket the things you need more information on.

Delegate tasks to others that they can do immediately or get a future timeslot on when they can do it.

Go ahead and experience the freedom of a clear mental space. Feel what it feels like to be in the present moment having handled everything that you needed to handle.

Face whatever comes at you with bravery because it will pass. Keep doing the actions of “Begin – Continue – Cessation” until your mental and physical space it clear of clutter and incompletes.

Use these principles everyday. Do it now, delegate it, file it. If you it’s a personal item you need to handle then follow the same sequence. If it’s something you don’t need but you think you might need it later then get rid of it, other things will come up that you will also need later and later hardly ever arrives unless you have allocated a future timeslot to it.

Make this your habit!







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Faadiel Rehman is the author of How To Make Work Fun and Put Your Career Into Overdrive. He often lectures on the principles of Career Advancement as contained in the book along with career coaching. See http://www.howtomakeworkfun.com for more information.

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