Back in April, Nick wrote about our on-call programmer schedule. I think this system has worked really well for us, but I’ve noticed something about myself as I’ve taken my turns pitching in on support.
I tend to get really overwhelmed, really easily. And when I get overwhelmed, I become tense, stressed, and just generally miserable.
I’ve thought a lot about why this happens to me, and I’ve realized that it can be correlated to the number of issues currently in the on-call queue. When that pile of issues is small, life is great and I’m all smiles. When that pile grows deep, I begin to feel smothered and oppressed by it.
So, with that insight, I decided to try something new this time around. Initially, I thought that maybe apathy would be the answer. If I was feeling burdened by the queue because I felt a responsibility to clear it out quickly, maybe not caring about the queue would solve it? With this goal firmly held in my mind, I began working through a typically large Monday morning ticket-pile.
After working just a few tickets with this new mindset, I did feel a difference—I felt free of the burden of the queue, and the stress I usually felt on these Manic Mondays was notably absent.
But something else I noticed was that it wasn’t apathy that helped. It wasn’t that I didn’t care, it’s that I had scoped my area of care into something narrower. Instead of caring that the queue was large, or that the next few tickets seemed like they might be tricky ones, I focused my care on the ticket at hand.
Focusing on the moment has made the difference for me. On-call has gone from a roller-coaster of “HATE IT/LOVE IT” to a generally pleasing experience. I do what I have the immediate power to accomplish, and take the day one ticket at a time.
Josh Lewis!
on 15 Nov 12The more I work, and the deeper I grow professionally, the more surprised I am at the role emotion plays in my work. I had grown up thinking that “real professionals” aren’t emotional, but it seems to me the truth is that the real pros have all the emotions anyone else would, and sometimes their emotions are even more intense!
But they also know how to acknowledge those emotions and deal with them well, like you did, rather than being embarrassed that they feel something that could be interpreted as weakness, and trying to protect themselves by hiding it.
Scott
on 15 Nov 12Scoping focus is so, so powerful. I’ve been using iAWriter’s “Focus Mode”, which fades everything except your current sentence. It really propels you forward and makes the writing experience very enjoyable.
Devan
on 15 Nov 12Ah… the benefits of focusing on the present. It is indeed a game changer. I’d recommend you grab a copy of Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now” and read it for a deeper insight into what you have expounded on here…
Glenn Street
on 15 Nov 12A few years ago we built a To-Do list for our office, not too unlike what 37 Signals later built. Staff loved it at first, but after a few months sighs could be heard each time the app was opened. Took a wild shot in the dark and had the list changed to show only tasks due today. After completing all their tasks for the day, the next days tasks would then be shown – in case somebody wanted to get a head start. Suddenly, the To-Do list was liked again. Funny how focusing on a small section of work to be done helps so much, isn’t it?
Josh
on 16 Nov 12I’ve always been one to be in the moment when dealing with a specific client, or a specific issue; taking the time to understand and be understood, and I’ve learned a lot through this (and learned a bunch more by watching co-worker’s processes)
There are two lessons that really stuck out for me, and seemed to make the difference between a great day and a nosedive:
1) Every single person that contacts you has no idea how your day’s been. This is a fantastic thing, because it means we get an emotional reboot with each ticket. It’s also great for learning yourself since it’s instant feedback, as long as we choose to be aware.
2) In end-user support, the person contacting you (especially the first contact) is really just directing all the emotional energy at a personification of the company, not at you, the human being. This energy can be easily redirected at the issue. (I’ve coached many people with the phrase “It’s not you vs. the customer, it’s you and the customer vs. the issue”)
These two lessons, along with focus on only the task at hand tend to bring clarity, and leave emotional stress with nothing to latch on to.
Priya Sri
on 16 Nov 12This is such an obvious, yet often overlooked thought! It further granularizes into : focus on the current task (okay, let’s say ‘ticket’ here), & don’t even focus on the result! Meaning, don’t ‘expect’ that this ticket is going to end peacefully/soon. I realize this when coding on a huge project all by myself! The last few days, I was literally cribbing that I’ve so much more coding to complete. After 3 days of loss of productivity (!!!), I realized (actually, just today morning) that it’s of no use! It drags me down even more! Thinking that I have so much more to do, I waste a day, & then thinking of this wasted day, I waste one more, & on! It’s like quick sand! Thanks, Jamis, for your lovely friday thought ! It helped!
GeeIWonder
on 16 Nov 12Someone should be focusing on the queue, but probably not the people immediately dealing with it.
Don’t call that someone a manager though.
GregT
on 16 Nov 12http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_killingsworth_want_to_be_happier_stay_in_the_moment.html
Vijay
on 17 Nov 12Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. And thats why its called the ‘present’.
xddgghtp
on 20 Nov 121
This discussion is closed.