If you want something done, ask a busy person.
Do you know why they say that? Sure, part of it is the fact that those busy people are motivated. If they are motivated to do other stuff, they’ll probably be motivated to do your stuff.
Part of it is probably that those people are good at getting stuff done. In baseball, there’s a pitcher whose role is called “the closer.” His job is to come in during the 9th inning and get the final three outs. In sales, the “closers” are the guys who get the client to commit and actually get the sale. It’s a skill. Busy people often have it.
But, I think the real reason that a busy person is more likely to get done whatever you are asking them for is that nothing succeeds like success.
Baseball season just started. Already my beloved Seattle Mariners are mired in last place in their division. But, the season is early and they are only three and a half games back of the first place team. At some point the M’s are going to have a winning streak. They won yesterday for their second win of the young season, so maybe that will be the start. But, a winning streak takes on a life of its own. The team starts to believe in themselves. They start to believe they can’t lose. And that confidence helps them perform better. They start to succeed because they are succeeding.
Most of us will never play center field for the Mariners (or any other team except maybe our company softball team.) But, we each have “games” we are trying to win. We have stresses. We have doubts. (Yes, everyone has them, don’t let anyone tell you differently. They are lying.) And as we meet each challenge, as we “win” each game, just like major league ballplayers, we start to gain confidence. We begin to trust ourselves. We start to feel we can’t lose. And that confidence helps us accomplish the next task, and the next, and the one after that. Soon, we are plowing through our TODO list like a baserunner running through the stop sign at third. We know it’s going to work.
So what if you aren’t that guy or woman? What if you are in a slump? What can you do about it? Fortunately, none of us have to face a 95 MPH fastball to try to get out of our hitting slump. You look for the easy wins. You look for the low hanging fruit. You start to chaulk up some wins. And as surely as a Wednesday get-away day follows a three game homestand, we will start to see success. We can’t help but start to become more successful.
And unlike the 30 teams in MLB, we are not competing with our coworkers for wins. We can all win. And as you start to get those wins, others will start looking to you to be the goto person. They will bring projects to you not because you are busy, but because you are successful.
It’s the start of a whole new season. Start your own winning streak.
(And go M’s!)
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.
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