Jan 08 2009
Rules are now Rulz #2
OLD RULE - Be perfect
NEW RULE - Be perfect only when it matters
Perfectionists who obsess over little details can sometimes miss the things that count the most. For example, 37 percent of workers blamed such exacting tendencies for missed deadlines, accord¬ing to one study presented in 2003. So be smarter. Seldman recommends identifying tasks you can do without fine-tuning, and spending most of your time on everything else. When you realize your less-than-perfect work is just fine, your agony wilt abate.
OLD RULE - Juggle like a circus clown, baby!
NEW RULE - Multitasking stalls your system
Even though brain activity rises when you locus on multiple tasks, your perfor¬mance suffers, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon. “Avoiding distrac¬tions isn’t always possible, so you need to learn how to rapidly refocus.” says David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done and Making It Alt Work. Develop a system to jog your memory, such as jotting down new tasks (”Call Fred”), putting them aside, and staying focused on your current work.
