I really like being efficient. I like knowing that I am getting the maximum amount of work done and minimizing time spent and effort exerted. It’s part of the challenge behind running errands, doing housework, and doing actual work work. Cooking a casserole while the dryer spins and then folding laundry while the dishwasher runs is sweet harmony. Doubling back during a trip to the grocery store is aggravation.
I have come to find, however, that when I encounter someone who does not share this viewpoint, it is like we are speaking two different languages. I can’t understand why that person doesn’t want to do something faster or better, and it’s a mystery as to why I am always in a rush. For example, let’s examine conversations with my supervisor today about an organization-wide list:
Me: I just sent you the finished list to send out for corrections.
She: Great. I’ll send it out with a note to send in revisions by Tuesday.
Me: Will they go to you?
She: I think that’s the easiest, since we won’t get more than a handful.
Me: Sounds good.
(An hour elapses. I receive the mass mailing with the list attached. I send my supervisor an addition to the list that someone has sent independently. She re-sends the e-mail back to me immediately, along with several other revisions, asking me to input them.)
Me: Am I making the changes to the list? I thought we had agreed that you were receiving them.
She: Yes, people will send them to me, but you can just input the ones from today.
Me: Are we going to have trouble with different versions?
She: No, I’ll just keep any additions I get in a separate file. You’re just going to add the new ones because I haven’t physically set up a folder yet.
Me: Oh. … Do you want me to send you the list after I make those changes today?
She: No, just hang on to it for now.
I go back to my desk. I enter the changes and re-save the file with Monday’s date. I am so confused. Why doesn’t she keep a master list and track the changes? Or why don’t I manage the whole thing? What does it mean that she hasn’t physically set up a folder? She hasn’t taken a folder out of the supply closet? Or she hasn’t right-clicked and chosen “New Folder”? How will we know who has done what? If I receive revisions from people, should I input them or send them to her to file?
I think there’s something going on here about the way things have always been, how I don’t have a full understanding of that history, and a mystifying dependence on hard copies, but I am unclear about why we would add steps and points of contact into a process. It’s not that things need to be done my way, but I don’t understand the advantage of this way, not that my supervisor needs to justify herself. I just don’t get it.
I’m kind of relieved that today is Friday, and when I get home, I can chop vegetables and make dip as efficiently as I darn well please.
5 comments
Yikes, that would just about kill me. Revisions coming from multiple sources need to be compiled in one place and done by one person. Otherwise it’s just too hard to keep track. What if your supervisor is making a revision to an outdated version of the document when having the most up-to-date version would make that revision unnecessary? The whole thing seems like a disastrous formula for time wasting and confusion.
I KNOW. And it’s one of those things that all the bigwigs see, so I’m paranoid that something will get lost in the shuffle.
When I make my grocery list, I first make a list of the things we plan to eat that week. As I look at the recipes (or go through them in my head) I check the pantry and fridge and I only write down what I need. Then I flip the paper over and divide it into six sections with the following labels: produce, canned/dry, meat, dairy, frozen, and misc. Then I go back and forth between the list on the back and the categories in the front placing all the items in their proper categories.
I detest doubling back at the grocery store. I detest forgetting things, especially if they are on the list already! This prevents me from doing both those things. Plus, I hardly ever buy extra stuff that I don’t need when I go in with such a specific list. AND I already know what meal options I have going into a new week.
So, yes, I understand your desire to be efficient. I understand completely.
Umm, we do the exact same thing with our grocery list, too. My doubling back in the store is more because I’m terrible at remembering where things like corn syrup or peanut butter crackers are.
That would make me insane! Efficiency looks a little different at my job, but it’s still an issue.
One of the therapists I work with has a hard time with time management and efficiency in general. It makes me nuts that she can’t understand that we have X number of minutes to complete said activity. The minutes are the same every week….don’t plan activities that can only be completed in 2X number of minutes. Why is this so hard?
I love that — the minutes really ARE the same every week. Such a novel concept.
This sounds suspiciously like many of my darling coworkers. I try not to impose my need to organize on them, but usually it’s just. so. hard.
Yeah, imposing organization is never a good idea, but it’s hard to resist when you can’t imagine how they could function without it.
That sort of thing would get under my skin. Organization is just so wonderful and comforting to me.
I know what you mean, but I guess for some people, it’s restricting. Which is totally weird.
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