It turns out that for years I’ve been getting things wrong.  You see, I thought that the way to do stuff (not every day stuff – the slightly bigger things with a bit of impact.  In this case, the sort of work stuff with about 5000 people’s worth of impact) was to:

• Be given a task
• Have a little think about it
• Come up with a couple of solutions
• Possibly write down a few pros and cons
• Discuss with someone to decide the best option
• Carefully work on whatever it is
• And deliver

It turns out that I’ve wasted a huge amount of time with this theory though.  Today I’ve discovered what I should have actually been doing was either:

• Be given a task
• Apply first solution that pops into brain that will have the best impact in the fastest time
• Deliver

Or alternatively:

• Be given a half completed task
• Decide that even though this has been reviewed and approved by around 398 people, it’s never going to work
• Change it all at the speed of light
• Clear it with absolutely nobody
• Deliver.

It turns out that not only does nobody die when you don’t plan things out in a considered and sensible way, but nobody notices (or at least, they haven’t yet.  I could be eating my words next week).  I’ve not done my best work, but it’s been the only way to get through the ridiculous to do list this week.  It’s a revelation***.  And slightly annoying to think of all the crochet hours I’ve missed….

*** There is a slight down side to this.  I think it must affect other parts of your brain to work at what feels like the speed of light.  This week I’ve walked straight into two walls (and have the bruises to prove it), convinced myself I was going through the menopause (then realised that I’d accidentally selected a ‘hot and spicy’ chicken salad which was what was giving me hot flushes) and had a conversation about the magpie rhyme with far more intensity than was required.  For the record, nobody seems to agree on one answer, but I’m going with:

One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told.

I just wish all the magpies I see would be more sociable and stop appearing in ones as I spend most of my drive to the station touching my collar….but that’s a whole different story :o)