Work Smarter Series: Suddenly Bogged Down

Here's a great name for a book:  

I Didn't Know it was Quicksand Until I Stepped in it.

Anyone who has been in a working environment for any length of time knows exactly what I'm getting at.  You take on a task or a project expecting it to be quick.  Then suddenly you discover this question or that issue. It suddenly becomes more complicated than you thought.  "This or that" leads to more this or that, and before long you are bogged down in a lengthy project that you thought would be short.

I see many of you nodding your heads thinking "Yes, I know exactly what you are talking about...".  Rest assured, you are in good company.  This happens to the lowest ranking rookie employee all the way up to the highest ranking seasoned executive.  We all fall into quicksand on occasion.

There is no magical, perfect answer to this problem.  It is a continual process of prevention (of falling in the quicksand) and extraction (getting out of it).  

Here's a tip for Prevention:  Create a primary objective statement for yourself as it relates to work.  Your primary objective should be the most important thing you are supposed to be doing.  Then check what you are asked to do against this statement.  It might just help you from taking the leap into the quicksand. 

I'll use an example that is pretty common in most businesses.  It is the example of the salesperson stepping into quicksand out of a desire to help a customer.  You are the salesperson, and a customer calls to see if you can help him with a problem.  As a salesperson, you always want to lean toward a yes, but this request is fairly outside of your wheelhouse.

Pause and ask yourself "Is this within my primary objective?"  Most of the time, the answer isn't perfectly clear, but asking the question helps you pause and not go headfirst into the quicksand.  It isn't a perfect prevention, but it is a help.  

Now, for extracting yourself from the quicksand, I offer this tip:  Use the Triple D's.  Do.  Drop.  or Delegate.  Every one of these requires some judgment, but keep the Triple D's on your mind and it will help you.

Do:  You are already in.  Just put your head down and finish it as quickly as you can.  Sometimes this is simply the best choice because you've already invested a lot of time into the project.  

Drop:  Announce that this project is much larger than you originally thought.  You can drop it or postpone it for later. (It is funny how postponing sometimes lasts forever!)

Delegate:  Pass this project on to another person in your company who is more able to assist.  You have to use care here.  Make sure you're not delegating quicksand to your coworker.  Also, you can delegate the project to another company.  There is nothing wrong with saying "This isn't really our area, but I think this other company could help you."   

Managing quicksand is a serious coping skill.  Sadly, there are some people who never are able to develop these skills.  They are chronically stepping in or being bogged down in quicksand.  They are less effective as employees and many have their entire careers shortchanged.

No one is perfect in this regard, so don't give yourself too much grief when it happens to you.  Just try to develop your skills to minimize the damage.  I don’t believe that there really is a place called Easy Street.  But there is a place called Easier Avenue.