Fire-fighting is a very noble profession.
The name of the profession is self explanatory; fire-fighters are the people we call when buildings or other stuffs are on fire. They help save lives and properties.
Do You know how they go about their jobs?
I have not been a fire-fighter before but I know one way or they other, they (fire-fighters) are in their offices waiting for emergency calls and then fire-suits intact, helmets on, they swing to action.
Savings lives and properties is a noble thing to do except when You are not a fire-fighter but You work like a fire-fighter day in day out.
Many of us do not belong to the fire-fighting department, we are programmers and accountants and engineers and managers but our daily routine looks like that of a fire fighter.
Actually, I am lying down comfortably on this table I am shaking.
So basically, You walk into the office in the morning with all the good intensions in the world, your To-Do list is well written and copiously articulated.
However, the emergency calls start coming in, imaginary fires are burning and somewhere around 10am or 11pm, You are already “wearing helmets” like a fire fighter trying to put out as many fires as possible.
Fast-forward to 4pm or 5pm depending on your closing time, your to-do list is as intact as You brought it in the morning, nothing has been ticked but You are tired asf.
You have been busy all day doing everything else except the most important things You were supposed to do.
Even though your fancy title read “Software Engineer” trust me what You actually are is a “Fire Fighter” except You are not fighting real fires in your case.
With that said,
What is the way forward, how to we (You and I) jump off this table we are shaking?
Simple;
Stop being a fire-fighter,
Stop working from a Reactive position (except You are a React JS developer though),
When the emergency calls come in, analyse them, are they your emergencies?, can You delegate them? are they even important in the first place?
Put the fires where they belong and work like the super star professional that You are.
Selah = Think and most importantly act on this things.
P.S. Shaking tables in this part of the world means hitting on topic that will make folks “uncomfortable”, something they are guilty of kinda.
I am Seun Ogunmola I help People and Organizations to leverage on Technology to achieve their goals Faster, Easier and Cheaper.
I also write on diverse subject areas including Finance, Business, Productivity and Governance.