Taking the Time

When we excel at something, or do it often, we can easily speed through the task without much thought. Our muscle memory will kick in and do the heavy lifting while our brain checks out for a rest break.

Routine tasks become just that - routine. How do we keep things fresh and continue to provide great attention to detail? From brushing your teeth to driving the same route every day to work, it's easy to abandon mindfulness to the task at hand.

Mixing it up is one method you can employ to keep your brain alert. For instance, when brushing your teeth are you paying attention to being thorough? Or allowing routine control how well you take care of your teeth? Sometimes I'll put the toothbrush in my non-dominate hand (for me, my left) and I can feel my brain engaging to figure out how to complete this new task. It is a challenge and provides me the opportunity to focus my attention on how well I brush my teeth.

When producing something for work, you want it to be of the highest quality. This is when paying attention to the tiny details is important. Falling into the trap of routine can undermine your best work. Allowing routine and quick work to take charge can lead to errors and sloppy looking results.

To ensure whatever it is you're working on is something to be proud of, take the time to double check it before submitting it to wherever it's headed next. Before hitting send on the email, publish on the social media post, print on the flyer or anything else - check it again. And yet again if you make changes. It is worth the added diligence when producing anything with your name on it. Taking this extra effort will result in your best work. Consistently putting forth your best will earn you a coveted reputation within your business industry.

When I was in high school seniors received titles from their peers perception of them. Ranging from Most School Spirit to Most Athletic and including the less coveted Most Dependable we judged and filed each other into these categories. That Most Dependable honor was not considered a compliment during my high school years. It was "boring" compared to the other "Most This" or "Best That" options. Be it my age or my own development of this particular skill, I believe instead of boring this is high praise. It is also quite useful in adult life. School spirit will only get you so far!

Seek to create a reputation for producing the best and your skills will be sought after rather than shunned.