Caught in the details

[TypicalDeviant]

So I'm pretty detail oriented (a nice way of calling myself anal, I suppose). Anyway, it can be pretty helpful when editing or searching for something, but I've recently found it to be a hindrance at work.

I'll be given several different things to complete at once and will end up getting caught up in one of them because of some relatively unimportant detail.

Does anyone have some advice on how to get me to "zoom out" and look at the big picture from time to time?

Thanks

 

[fire_breeze]

So I'm pretty detail oriented (a nice way of calling myself anal, I suppose). Anyway, it can be pretty helpful when editing or searching for something, but I've recently found it to be a hindrance at work.

I'll be given several different things to complete at once and will end up getting caught up in one of them because of some relatively unimportant detail.

Does anyone have some advice on how to get me to "zoom out" and look at the big picture from time to time?

Thanks

I work with a lot of details. Have you tried a pyramid approach? Before starting on the details, get the bigger, solid foundations done first and then zoom in. That way, when you have the time you can fiddle with the minor details that can gloss a project, but if you don't you're still done.

I don't know how much sense that made

 

[emap]

What she said, think of it like being a waitress, or waiter as the case may be. You have 5 tables crying for attention, they all want refills, two want their food, one wants to get the check, one wants to place their order and the last one you really just gotta go and see how they are doing.

You can't just do each table fully in order, you can't go and hand out refills either cause each table you have to do seperate. So what you are left doing is the important stuff first, you get the food, you get the menu's, if possible you swing by and sorta say over your shoulder to the last table that you hope their food is great. Then you can get to the less important details, like refills.

Just like she said, you gotta pyramid it, put the different parts in order of importance and order received make sure you get the important parts done first, then the not quite as important and so on until if your lucky at the end your doing the minor stuff and nobody is yelling for your head.

 

[shiny5437]

Go to youtube and search for Randy Pausch Time management lecture.

He's an amazing guy, and a truly successful person, not just someone making a living telling other people how to live their lives.

He talks about things like how to prioritise, stressing that most things are pass/fail so they don't have to be perfect, etc. It's well worth everybody checking out.

So says me who's gotten up at 4am to finish a talk i'm doing in 6hrs

And has had 3 weeks of blankpage-itis

 

[TypicalDeviant]

Thanks to all of your for the advice - I'll be sure to check out the videos on youtube soon.

It seems to me like its less of a focus thing and more of a time management/organization thing.