“It just seems I am constantly plagued by little irritants that absorb my time and eat up my day…”
So runs a common complaint from many of my business clients, often when they have moved into a new office or cubicle.
Why?
Because they immediately start work and don’t give themselves adequate time to adapt and adjust to their new workplace’s work space.
She just could not put her finger on it…
I had a client in Colorado who hired me to give my daylong seminar and provide hands-on coaching for 12 of his people.
While working with one attendee, a manager, I entered her office and, to my amazement, it was beautiful. Nothing was out of place, everything was organized, and it was gorgeous to boot. I asked her why she took the course.
She replied that there was something about her office that had bugged her for years, but she just could not put her finger on it. I told her that I could not help her, that the office was close to perfect, but she insisted that I spend some time there analyzing her situation.
As I watched her begin her work, the phone rang, and she reached for it. The cord was about 25 feet long, and she began to wrap it around her desk, her neck, and her computer. It was a nightmare to watch.
After she hung up, I asked her if she always answered the phone like that, and she said, “Yes, and it drives me crazy.”
The phone was on her right, and she was right-handed, so when she answered it, she switched the phone to her left hand, dragging the long cord across the center of her desktop and open paperwork.
I suggested that she move the phone to the other side so that it would not cross her body and desktop. It took us three minutes to reposition it.
As if on cue, the phone rang again. She picked it up with much ease, talked for a moment, hung up, got up – no cord stretching across her desk or getting tangled in her paperwork – and gave me a hug.
For that small adjustment I got a friend for life and paid big bucks!
Oh, by the way, she had lived with that little irritant for seven years. So find those small, easy to change irritants and make adjustments.
Get organized now. You’ll love me for it!
~
Excerpted and adapted from If I Can File It Can I Find It, by Sue McMillin, available here.