If You Could Do It...Again

By Mike Dill

Think about this "if I had it to do again "or" if I knew then, what I know now," How often have you said that? Probably too many times. How about this one, "I should have paid more attention" or "what do I need to know this for, I'll never need or use it." Famous last words. "Those who do not learn from their mistakes." This is a particular favorite of mine " I've seen it all." Well, take it from an old dog; we can learn new tricks, however, the responsibility goes to the individual. You get out of it, what you put in. Try and slide by, just don't make it anymore. Too much going on, too many things you have to know and do. Not enough time in the day to get it done. Those are excuses. Whenever you start a sentence with, "I can't," or use the word "but" the excuses will follow. Granted you always can't do everything right now, however there is other time. You must learn to budget your time, or prioritize. What is really necessary and then there is the rest of the stuff. We all have stuff, some not as important, but it's stuff. My stuff is important to me and your stuff is important to you. Where we run into problems is when we try to merge stuff. That's when stuff overload occurs. Now the trick is to avoid, if possible, stuff overload. Think about this "stuff runs downhill." So when your stuff starts to merge with their stuff, how do you prioritize? Not to hard to figure, who signs your paycheck. That, in most instances, makes their stuff more important.There are exceptions. On your list of stuff are family, home, golf league (Lew in Cuba), and other stuff. On their list of stuff is plant operations, dealing with the public, making sure their stuff keeps on going. They have more stuff than we do, because they are responsible for more than we are; however, that's where we as operators come in. We have been trained on how to do stuff. Dosage stuff, lab stuff, lawn stuff, the list goes on forever. That's important to; the forever stuff. Doesn't need attention now, however, it pops up on the list of need to do stuff. We all have a stuff list, do it now, do it later, and I will get to it. Well, somehow or other, stuff seems to slip from get to it tomorrow and the next day, to I forgot. Whoa, stay away from forgot, that leads to never getting done and then someone asks for their stuff that went into the forgot stuff. Now the pressure is on because we forgot their stuff and overrode without stuff and now "stuff hits the fan." Those who stand on the downwind side of the fan, well they get covered with stuff. Those of us who are into the lumpy stuff, we know. Now if you are one of those who are constantly in stuff overload mode, there are ways to lessen the stuff. Try making a stuff list. Although you can get caught in the list stuff mode and never do stuff because you couldn't make a list or the stuff list was too big. For those of you who have attended my Math class you have heard me say, "you can eat an elephant, however, one bite at a time." Now stuff comes in varying sizes, but make it bite size. Sometimes you have to separate stuff. I believe the technical term is separation with sedimentation. See what settles out, or the important stuff rises to the top. If your stuff skills are lacking on a particular stuff, get training, or you ain't goin to like this, read up on it. I know, you got too much stuff to do to read. Well reading is stuff, and it's necessary.

How about computer stuff, there is always something to learn. Don't wait for New York Rural Water to do training, there is excellent computer training available at your local high school, community college or vocational school. The people there really know their stuff. Remember, to get to the really important stuff, we must get through the other stuff. I know sometimes its an inconvenience, but remember, all stuff is important to someone. Just because it's not high on your stuff list, it's high somewhere, to someone. Remember stuff happens. So keep it good stuff, and something good will happen to you. I am constantly trying to separate my stuff and up my standards, so up your standards.