Dealing with the small stuff in life and business.

When two people get married a lot of negotiating comes in to play from the moment they say, "I do." And, it's not always the big stuff you might think that couples negotiate over. Sometimes it's very small but important stuff.  Such as, which way does the toilet paper roll off the hanger? Does the paper roll off the top, or does the paper roll off the bottom or does it matter? What about toothpaste? Is it OK to squeeze it from the middle, or is it absolutely essential to squeeze it from the bottom to top? 

What about unloading the dishwasher? My wife used to offer a family class on how to open the dishwasher door. It appeared that the males in the family (1 old one, 2 young ones, and 1 male dog) didn't seem to have that process figured out. But, it's not just loading it, what about unloading it? Whose responsible for unloading it? And then there was laundry. Who was responsible for putting the laundry away? Is it always mom, or should other more testosterone laden types get involved too? 

Little things. It's the little things that make a marriage work along with the big things. It's also the little things that make a business work. I don't remember how many times I've called a business colleague only to leave a message that is never returned. Sometimes, it's a little thing, but like a marriage, it's often the accumulation of little things that cause so much stress. It's irritating to call, email and text colleagues only to have them ignore or not respond. So, what's the solution? Well, you could leave the clothes piled up in the laundry room until you have nothing left in your closets or drawers, or you could actually call again, email or send a text. How do we deal with little things?

I think the best response for us is to not let the little things get us down. That can be a battle though. Recently, I was talking to a good friend who is a physician. She was telling me she would like to get out of the business. Why? She said the real joy she has in her work is in the patient's room. That's where she wants to spend all of her time. 

She's a wonderful physician, and it would be awful to lose her, but I do understand her dilemma. She went on to say that when she leaves the patient and closes the door there's all of this stuff that hits her right in the face. She doesn't like the little stuff. She doesn't want to look at the books, or coordinate cleaning crews or repairmen and she frets over the people that work with her who are depending on her for their livelihood.That may not sound like little stuff, but it's a bunch of little stuff combined to seem like big stuff.

Little stuff. It follows us around every day. A tail light is out. A kid forgets his lunch.The car is low on gas.You leave your cell phone at the office.The dog throws up just as you're about to walk out the door, and you're already late for a meeting.Your computer locks up when you're dazzling a potential client with a presentation. How do we deal with the little stuff? Do we return phone calls? Do we send notes, call past clients, keep our files in order and follow up with vendors and contractors? 

My life is full of little stuff. I do pretty good with it for the most part, but sometimes it gets away from me, and that's when I find myself scrambling to catch up. Like my physician friend, I don't like that side of business. I like flowing along on a sea of glass with everything falling into place, all meetings kept, and kept on time and every detail complete. When I snap out of my dream I'm reminded that this is real life, and stuff happens.

So, here's a short list of things I do (or like to do when I remember) to keep up with the little stuff:

• Subscribe to forums like, well, Active Rain, where you can learn from some of the best brainiacs in the business.  
• Keep an eye on that co-worker who annoys you with her stunning efficiency. She may have a thing or two you can learn. Ask her how she makes work looks so easy. She would probably love to tell you. People love to talk about themselves.
• Look for ways to cut down on tasks. For instance, some software will do things for you on an automated schedule. Use every tool you can find to help you cut down on little stuff.
•      Educate yourself on your profession. Are there better more efficient ways to do business (absolutely, always).
•      Stay in touch with your clients; email, text, phone call, whatever.
•        Move dead files to an out of the way place where you can get to them, but they're not in the way. 
•        Establish a file system that works for you. Mine can get messy. Fortunately, I have someone else who is taking on that responsibility. Find a file system that makes you efficient.
•        Keep your files filed.
• Keep a journal of every phone call, email and text. Note what needs to be responded to right away, and note what can wait until later and make a notation to remind you to follow-up. Modern phones can alert to a time to return calls, emails and texts.
• Make lists of things that are going to need to be done over the next week, month, year, etc. Make sure dates and times are included.
• Make lists of tasks for the day (I love to check things off) Google calendar is a great asset here.
• Get enough food for energy, and get enough sleep to restore you body and mind for each day.Relax. Kick off your shoes, watch a movie, take the dog for a walk, take a bike ride or a swim, call an old friend, read a book, look at photo albums, you get the idea - get away from work.

·         And most of all, put that toilet paper roll on so the paper comes off the top!