The stratosphere. Weeds. Everything in between.
Levels.
As a business owner and partner, I have to consider the whole to make good recommendations. The gestalt. Holistic everything. Sometimes, I mentally sit on clouds and pretend I’m the Dreamworks boy fishing and trying to move pieces (Pisces?) into shape.
I’m also the resident expert on all things operations in this company. Not the founder, I’ve still been working in this company for 20 years.
These roles are diametrically opposed and lead to either consternation or humor, depending on my mood.
I like the weeds. When I garden, I sit right in the middle of them and pull, focusing only on my immediate area. Then I scoot to the next area and start over. Weeding takes the time it takes, and when the task is done, I see immediate results. Metaphoric weeding is also rewarding and where I get lost in flow. If you know your 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I’m one crazy Saw Sharpener so my tasks are just boom, boom, boom, boom, and, yes, boom.
This new year has brought some weedy work tasks, and I found myself this weekend craving that accomplishment euphoria I experienced in the week. I took my “clean kitchen” task to the next level. Like…35 year-old oven, detailed and cleaned; microwave – no longer smells like teenager’s myriad Hot Pockets of Doom; dishwasher, shining; tween-aged toaster oven, looks brand new.
I’m better in the weeds. When I must work in the clouds and quickly acclimate weedy mentality to those clouds, I mentally (and sometimes physically) ascend stairs. Mindsets need prompts sometimes. So there’s my tip for the day. When you have to shift between opposites, work in a prompt, mental or physical.