Why it didn't work out again: what our failures say

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Everyone in the world is wrong. You can hang your head and lament about another failure, or you can think and understand what failures are talking about. And even if you never have interruptions in work, this is also a signal that not everything is in order.

Nobody is immune to failure. You might miss an important call because an urgent workshop has begun. Or skip the meeting because you had to urgently close the holes in the project. And if it happens to get sick (to us or our loved ones), then all the priorities turn upside down.

Such systematic failures can also be beneficial. They simply show that in some area our resources are limited: there is not enough money, time, energy to do whatever we want. An adult, responsible person has to compromise in order to balance his goals and opportunities.

Unexpected failures also help calibrate the balance between effort needed and task accuracy. If failures happen occasionally, then you're fine. And if the failures come one after another, then you should try better. If there are no failures in your life at all, then you are spending too much time on your projects: the longer you refine the project, the better it is. But while you are polishing one task to a mirror finish, you are missing out on other opportunities.

Just estimate how much effort and time it takes on a project to get it done well enough. Redistribute the rest of the time to other tasks that also need to be done well.

But what you should pay attention to is systematic failures.

Systematic failures are those that cause you to never achieve specific goals.

Maybe you have a big task: write a book or get an education? Or maybe you promise yourself to start eating right or going to workouts every day? Whatever the goal, the reasons for constant failure are the same. Typically, this is a combination of three factors.

1. Short-term commitments are more important than long-term goals

This is the most obvious obstacle. Most of us prefer to deal with current affairs rather than waste time on long-running projects. Many studies confirm that the brain chooses things for which it is possible to quickly receive rewards (at least moral from their completion). Long-term goals, of course, do not fall into this category.

For example, a huge number of people dream of writing a book. But most did not even try to do this. In the end, there are always a bunch of other things to do as quickly as possible, and the book has waited and still has to wait.

And people who manage to achieve their goals themselves create favorable conditions for this. For example, everyone who published a book devoted at least a few hours a week specifically to work on it.

2. Circumstances, hostile goals

Without noticing it, we give preference to simple activities, rather than important matters. The best example is mail. Most keep their mailbox open all day long. And each new incoming letter is an excuse to interrupt work and see what has come. After all, checking mail is also an occupation. And it's much easier than completing a multi-page project or checking a hefty spreadsheet again. Close the tab with the mail client or turn off the notifications in the app for a few hours - and one distraction is defeated.

Create a supportive environment for your goals: keep yourself reminded of them. Place the book you want to read on the table. Place a reminder sticker on the monitor. Research that reminders propel us to action. And we may not even be aware of this process.

3. Working too long

In some companies, it is customary to stay in the workplace for longer than a working day. Paradoxically, this leads to systematic failures. Work is not an endurance competition where the longest tracker wins.

Most people can work effectively for several hours a day. For example, 8-9 hours. If you stay longer at work, then overtime hours are filled with imitation of hectic activity. Employees may look awful busy, but they won't be of any use. And this time could be spent on other things with better results.

You need to calculate how long your energy is enough to work. And do business at this particular time, and not just sit at the workplace. This will save you both time and energy for other purposes.

Next time you run into failure, analyze what is the cause. Was this failure accidental (due to unforeseen circumstances or a one-time planning mistake), or is this failure repeated all the time?

After all, bugs act as canaries in the coal mine: they signal big problems.

And if you leave it as it is, failure will continue to haunt you. Finally, if there are too many "accidental" failures in your life, maybe it is worth giving up tasks that you cannot cope with? For example, taking on less and learning to delegate responsibility before unpleasant accidents become habitual.