Whether it is a lounge chair for the pool, a bed for you kids or a simple shelf, I love to build. When I do, I try to do the job to the best of my ability. No one is grading me other than myself.
When it is something you care about it, it is easier to do the job well. Your motivation is high. But doing every job well is just as important. You could be practicing for a sport, cleaning your room or working at your first real job. The size of the task doesn’t matter. What does is doing that task to the best of your ability.
While it may be hard to do tasks the right way, you will see it is worth it. Here is why:
1. It saves you from doing it over.
2. You learn more and get better.
3. People take notice and may reward you.
4. It builds a sense of pride and confidence.
You might have to learn this lesson the hard way. But, these tips should help.
First, take your time.
When I was 16, I worked at a pool supply warehouse. One day an 18 wheeler pulled up full of 50 pound bags of stone dust. It is a very fine, powder-like substance that you use under an aboveground pool.
Since this truck wasn’t ours, we had to move every bag of stone dust. We didn’t have room in the warehouse, so we rented another 18 wheeler and had to move the bags from one truck to the other.
It was the middle of a hot and humid St. Louis summer. The only way to do the job was to park the two trucks back to back. There was no ventilation. It was like a sauna. To make things worse, the dust would float around the truck. It would get in your clothes, your hair, your nose and your mouth.
These bags went from floor to ceiling. They took up every inch of that truck. I knew that if I didn’t do my job well, I would have to unload the entire truck and start again. I completed the work after 3-4 hours. The truck was a mirror of the one that drove in and every bag fit.
Because I did the job well, I only did it once. To my surprise, my boss took notice, and gave me the rest of the afternoon off. Remember, take your time. Don’t cut corners. Do it right the first time.
My second tip is to prepare.
I remember watching Derrick learn how to ride a bike. He and my Dad would practice balancing, peddling and stopping in the back yard. I watched and thought “this is taking forever.”
One day, I snuck into the garage and grabbed the bike. Instead of riding on the lawn, I went to the street where there was a nice hill. I got on his bike, got set and started to coast down the hill. I was a little wobbly at first, but as I picked up speed it got easier.
I was riding a bike! Who needs all that practice in the backyard. I did it in half the time. Then I looked up and noticed a parked car on the street. No problem, I’ll brake and slow down. Then I realized, I didn’t know how to brake. I ended up hitting the parked car and flying on top of the hood.
I was OK, but I got in trouble. My shortcut didn’t work. I wasn’t prepared. Making sure you are ready to do the work, is as important as the work. It saves you time and a few bumps and bruises.
My third tip, be honest with yourself.
One day I went over to my Grandfather’s house to do some work. I had to scrape old paint off of the concrete around the house and then repaint it.
Nothing about this job was fun. In my mind, the best thing to do was to work fast. I scraped fleck after fleck and went in to let Grandpa know I was ready to paint. Then came the inspection.
Grandpa did everything the right way. He was never one to take a shortcut, no matter what. As he started walking around the house looking at my work, I knew I made a mistake.
He pointed out problem after problem with my work. My reward for working fast was doing it all over again. Now under an even more watchful eye.
Get into the habit of holding yourself to a high standard. Your opinion is the one that matters most. Never give yourself a pass if someone isn’t watching. You may feel like you’re getting away with taking a shortcut, but you aren’t. In those cases the only person you are hurting is yourself.
The great thing about this lesson, is you can practice every day. Do each job with a mindset of doing it well. By working on the small things today, you will develop the habits that pay off on the big things down the road.
This post is part of a series of letters to my kids. My goal is to reflect on and capture as many life lessons as possible. Here is the current list I am working from
