Today was a challenging day for me. As part of my monthly activity I create and complete monthly reporting. And another part of my responsibilities is to help with daily challenges employees face using a Learning Management Software. Most of the issues are Log-In issues, or concerns of false reporting. Most of the issues are human errors as the computer only completes the functions it is set to preform.

I had scheduled today to be all about reporting month end data. Knowing I had planned to complete the Month End Report I wanted the most accurate data available. I noticed, as I began the morning there were a dozen emails in my in-box. My thoughts were answer the emails, refresh my data before I started calculations giving me the most up-to-date data available for the report.

As I answered one email, two more new emails would populate into my email in-box. Before I knew it the my alarm reminded me of a lunch appointment. Half the day had passed and I had not made much progress on my reporting.

There was a lesson here if I wanted to move forward. I needed to set some professional boundaries for reporting. As long as I try to multi-task my progress was going to be hindered. The process for completing reports will be to focus on the reports until completed. The next step would be to respond to all the emails.

Remember it is important to have boundaries if needed. I am not a big fan of Multi-Tasking. My rational is if you are focused on two tasks one of them is not a priority. If I want to be the best at what ever I do, then I need to take the time it takes to do the job right, with out errors.

What if I hurry through the emails and leave out important facts, or what if my reporting is incorrect. It is not worth rushing if rushing damages your professional integrity.

Be smart, move forward making sound progress.

Thanks for joining me today.