Maybe you’re not the type of person who’s ever run into a glass door. I am that type. There was something in front of me that I didn’t see and didn’t know it was there.
- It surprises me mid stride
- It might hurt a little bit
- It stops my progress
- It makes me question my ability to perceive
- It makes me feel dumb
- It must be dealt with (either I need to go around or move it)
One of my favorite things is having a list of things to do in a day and knocking them out one at a time. It is rare that it works out smoothly, but when it does… ah! Bliss!
Almost all projects, no matter how experienced we are, have tasks to achieving them that we don’t see in front of us.
- I go to get my car registered, there’s no line to wait in. I’ll be in and out in 15 minutes… except I find out I have to get my smog test done.
- I’m going to perform a joke about snowmen. It’s gonna kill. I tell my wife the joke thinking she’ll laugh and she tells me it may be offensive to a group of people.
- I want to paint letters on a sign. I plan for it to take 45 min… and I realize that the surface isn’t prepared right and it will just soak up the paint.
We smash into invisible steps in a process = glass tasks
Just like a glass door, it can really break our flow physically, mentally, and emotionally to come across these glass tasks. I feel like labeling them and adding them immediately to our todo lists can help us to get to flow again.
deal with it mentally
- The glass door always existed there.
- It was not possible for me to see it until I felt it.
- It’s something I will take care of.
- Just because it’s surprising, doesn’t mean it’s a waste of time.
Make it visible
Writing it down on a todo list makes the glass task visible. Not only is this good for future trips through this kind of project, it also helps us remember that we didn’t waste our day doing nothing. We did a task that needed to get done.