I used to regularly work 40-60 hour weeks juggling multiple clients,
six conference calls a day, while managing a diverse group of accounts, co-workers and multi-million dollar budgets. To say I worked error-free would be a
complete fallacy, but I managed pretty darn well juggling it all and making what
I believe to be an average number mistakes along the way. (Some more major than
others, like cc’ing the client on a reply that he really shouldn’t have seen…) But my point is I was a busy, busy bee
with the ability and opportunity to make MAJOR mistakes all the time, but
luckily, this didn’t happen.
Now, my work is quite a bit less demanding. I still have clients who
need stellar work done and I certainly have deadlines to meet but my calendar is mainly
my own. If I’m lucky I have 3 client calls a week. With this new work life I
know I’m in a great place, helping businesses with their writing, marketing and
communication needs while still juggling the demands of my family, but I’m also
recognizing that I’m in the middle of a weird work phenomenon…
The less busy I am, the more mental mistakes I make.
I wonder why this is? Is it physical? Perhaps I just can’t
perform as well because I don’t have a constant stream of adrenaline running through
me as I jump to project to fire drill to giving a presentation? Or is it a brain issue? Am I just not as sharp
as I used to be because I’m not putting in the same work hours?
I hate making mistakes. Of course I'm not alone, who likes to make them?
When googling phrases like “the less busy I am the more
mistakes I make” and “less busy at work, make more errors,” I come up with
nothing. Not even another blogger like myself stewing on the topic.
Has anyone else faced this issue before? I’d be interested to know...
Now it's time for me to get busier!
