Jun 14, 2021
TOW#596 — I forgot
Calendars, post-its, reminders… and people still manage to forget. Okay, people will forget sometimes, but I’ve had to start thinking about everyone, and not only do I have to think about them, I also have to think about myself and so now even I’ve started to forget things!!
I don’t know if you’ve experienced that feeling when you go through your ToDo List and see something that you’d forgotten, but that you really needed to do, and then comes that cold sweat, your throat dries up, heart starts pouding and you melt into your chair. Panic of the highest order!
Option 1: you play the fool (most often) and pray your boss will forget too! This is the worst option because it’s even worse when I remember after a month and realise that not only had they forgotten, but they’d also hidden it from me, and that makes me even more angry. I don’t even want to talk about this option — it’s not OK, so please don’t use it!
Option 2: You’ve forgotten and now what?
- Remain calm — this is the most important, just don’t panic. The thing is that mentally it’s easier for us to panic and focus on negative outcomes, rather than to do something to get ourselves out of sticky situations. The best way to help yourself is to ask: what can I do to sort this out?
- Evaluate the situation — there’s a few things you need to assess:
o How big is the mess you’ve made by forgetting?
o What can you do to fix it?
o How do you tell those above you?
o What can you propose as a solution?
- Second chance — I hope you know that according to current norms, unless the mess is truly huge (loss of big sums of money, health, life, etc.), the rule about there not being a second chance to make a first impression doesn’t count! You have another chance, so use it as best you can!
- Throw yourself into work — everyone in the team is already aware, a few possible solutions have been floated, so now it’s time to fix the problem. Get to work and try to sort out the situation so that it turns into a win-win for everyone.
- Lessons learned — I shouldn’t have to repeat this, but what I’d like to share with you is a quote by one of our associates from a while back:
„We can probably postpone, as long as we don’t forget”
Goran
In the end, however, the most important thing is not to forget in the first place, because the feeling of shame (most of all for you) is very strong! Therefore, please write down the things that you need to remember, in a format that works for you or simply anywhere, and create a system so you don’t forget! Sooner or later you’ll be found out!
Don’t forget,
@kalin.babusku
Member of the Team
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