Things were looking sad around my house after a week off work and a long weekend. Between the laundry, weeding, and paperwork piling up, I thought, I need to Get Shit Done!
Let’s be honest: We all need a little GSD attitude. The trick is to balance getting things accomplished without going old school and pushing and shoving your way through the world. To do that, you may need to adopt the outlook of the July series, Brush Up Your Mindset.
Let me tell you how a slight shift in my work outlook helped me sidestep a major mistake.
On my first day back, I logged on to my mail account and sorted quickly for The Big Reply. The Big Reply was supposed to happen before I took off for vacation, but my last day came and went without a response. Then a few days passed and a few days more. Still, nothing. So, you can understand why my vacation zen immediately vanished into a sour attitude!
My mind started bubbling with snappy responses to get people moving. Should I be snarky, pointed, or pull the big guns out and send a red bang mail? After all, isn’t that GSD at its finest?
Luckily, I came to my senses after my second cup of coffee! Would a pushy mail help after a surprise team shake-up and extended holiday weekend was a disaster in the making. “Thanks for the emergency message—I’m dropping everything just for you!” is a direct quote from No One Ever.
So, I decided to put every soft skill I knew to work. For instance, I used:
*Empathy to understand that people were just getting back into the swing of things after vacation
*Adaptability to know that my project wasn’t the first problem people were trying to solve
*Discernment to decide to wait, at least until the afternoon so people could settle in!
*Creativity to consider if there was a better way to present the information
*Healthy self-esteem to understand the distinction between “This project is off track” and “I’m a terrible person.” Those thoughts do not belong in the same sentence!
When you need to GSD, the trick is to be the accomplished, thoughtful person—the person people love to see coming. The one where people think, They bring efficiency AND a sense of humor. When they hit the room, I know we’re in good hands! What happens to the hellraising steamroller? They’re the person others look at and sigh, “Whew—I’m glad they left!”
Retire the worn-out idea that you can only get things done by being aggressive—that idea will only cause stress for you and everyone involved. Instead, mix and match soft skills for your situation. Here are three ways to start:
Deadlines are critical, but don’t let them be the boss of you. Just remember—you may be able to push something through in the moment, but for every action, there is a reaction. Before you hit Send, consider that a steamroller may be rolling their way back to you!
So, brush up your GSD mindset to include strong relationships and smart choices. How you get something done is just as important as getting it done.