The traffic-light theory of achievement.
The other day I was stopped at a light in my neighborhood, waiting to turn left. The light turned green, but the driver across from me didn’t go, and didn’t turn.
One . . . two . . . three . . .
Finally he found the gas pedal, and I was able to turn. I missed the next green light, at the other end of the block, by a trice. I missed the next light, the nightmarish watching-the-paint-dry light at the highway frontage road, by even less. Nothing personal against the motorist at the first light, but his trivial three-second delay cost me minutes of travel time.
Now consider your daily work through the same lens. Are “trivial” delays undermining your performance? Or your company’s?
In the long run, there’s no sense in speeding, no sense in being reckless. But there’s also no sense in dawdling when a green light beckons. That bit of time you save by getting up to speed briskly could make a big difference down the line, for you and for the others who depend on your work.
Are you stuck at a red light in your work?
What can you do to improve your responses once the light turns green?
~
(Photo by grenade.)
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One of my biggest pet peeves is when I am stuck behind a slow driver who has just pulled out in front of me, and because of that I get stuck at a red light or waiting to turn into traffic. That tiny little delay has sometimes resulted in over five minutes of delays. It’s possible to apply this logic in the workforce, but I also feel one has more control over the outcome. Lets look at an example: You sit down at your desk to begin your day at work when a friend calls your cell. This call represents a trivial delay. This could then lead to you getting distracted causing more delays, etc. However, I feel that one has more control over how the trivial delay effects them. If you get distracted, you have the ability to re-focus yourself and get the task at hand done. It all comes down to how much control you have over yourself.