"ATTENTION TO DETAIL" - It May Just Be The Most Important Skill To Hone
I recently blew a rare opportunity to work on a network television show and I'm convinced that it was due to my lack of attention to detail... but when did I lose that highly refined skill I once had?
"ATTENTION TO DETAIL" may just be the most important skill to develop. Have you thought about this? Do you agree? Everything that you do requires concentration, focus, knowledge, familiarity, and understanding - of whatever it is you're doing.
In a relationship it's attention to your lover's needs - emotional and physical, OR if you're not quite there yet in your relationship, it may be as simple as noticing that your date doesn't like how you're paying more attention to your phone than your date! Operating any kind of machinery requires incredible attention to detail - you better know what that one-way street sign means and which direction you should be traveling on the road! At work attention to details is incredibly critical if you want to succeed at your job and stand out as someone who is competent and accomplished.
So why do I think I was once more meticulous than I apparently am today? Years ago when I began my current career, my diligence and accuracy were cited as being key factors in the CFO and VP's decision to hire me - I was literally told they liked my, "Attention to Detail!" It was not only gratifying to hear that my hard work really was paying off, but it became a motivation to ensure that I always produce quality work that would be easily identified as a "Matthew Gooley Creation."
Can you only focus on so much? Is it possible that my endeavor to focus so greatly on the details at work resulted in the lack of focus or concentration in other elements of my life? Think about it - if you are training for a marathon by running 10, 15, or even 20 miles a day, you're putting pretty much all of your energy into preparation for that amazing challenge you'll be facing. When you get home from that run do you have anything left to be involved in your family life or even any energy to mow the lawn?
Similarly, I fear I was using up too much of my "Attention to Detail" percentage at work, which may have been a detriment to the rest of my world (see previous blog posts if you need a refresher!) That brings us back to my recent opportunity to book an awesome role on a television show in New York (... which NOW seems insignificant to the many other pieces of my life where I may be lacking in attentiveness...)
It was a simple email reply with specific, easy to follow, instructions, however I was 'multi-tasking' at home - trying to get prepared for the holidays, spend time with the family, and prepare to make a quick grocery store run before an outing with my wife and son. I quickly hit reply to the email and excitedly typed in my responses to each specific question, knowing that I was racing against other actors who would be doing the same thing (possibly on a faster network than me!). I took the photos that were requested and attached them, made sure everything was there and hit "SEND."
... A few minutes later I realized there was a specific email address that was instructed to send the reply to, I checked my outbox and... I HAD done that correctly, phew, no problem there, HOWEVER upon closer inspection of my email, I had typed my phone number twice (once at the top and once at the bottom) and somehow one-digit of the first entry was INCORRECT. Ugh. I quickly replied with a "corrected phone number" message and hit send. Now the waiting game would begin - I was excited, but nervous and quickly remembered one of the reasons I was relieved to walk away from the industry for a while - it's wicked stressful just waiting and wondering!
Later that evening I still hadn't heard anything back, but knew that was part of the process and that, in fact, I may never hear anything either way and that's normal, but instead of just letting it go, I checked my outbox again - why? I don't know - go ask Flo. What did I find? I found the specific note in the original email that said to "CHANGE THE SUBJECT OF YOUR REPLY TO..." To - something I did not do! It was now hours later and casting had potentially never seen my hasty reply at all - I was probably not even being considered for this role I was already getting my hopes up for!
Why did any of this even matter when I have a wife and child at home and the challenges that go along with balancing all of that with a career and personal goals, etc? Well, that'll have to be another blog, another day.
... I resent the email, this time with all of the proper changes and details (finally paid-attention-to), but knew it was too late and I had blown a very cool chance to have a brief taste of the world of acting that brings me so much pleasure and pain.
What's your take away? If you've been paying attention to the fine-details above, then you already know, but I like reiteration, so I'll say it clearly right here: Make sure you are working on your attention to detail, practice, exercise your mind - improve on your focus and accuracy in every way you can - that new person in the office told you their name - remember it, but also remember how to pronounce it (yes, there's a personal story there too!), drafting an important email or letter - read through it and make sure there aren't silly spelling mistakes - everything is not a race, take the extra care to produce quality communications and even more importantly quality relationships - do you feel special and important if the person you are talking to is looking at their phone more than they are looking into your eyes? I doubt it.
And by the way, to my surprise, I did receive an email from casting simply to inform me that I had not been selected for the role, I'm pretty sure they just felt bad that I mucked up my response so many times.
"ATTENTION TO DETAIL" may just be the most important skill to develop. Have you thought about this? Do you agree? Everything that you do requires concentration, focus, knowledge, familiarity, and understanding - of whatever it is you're doing.
In a relationship it's attention to your lover's needs - emotional and physical, OR if you're not quite there yet in your relationship, it may be as simple as noticing that your date doesn't like how you're paying more attention to your phone than your date! Operating any kind of machinery requires incredible attention to detail - you better know what that one-way street sign means and which direction you should be traveling on the road! At work attention to details is incredibly critical if you want to succeed at your job and stand out as someone who is competent and accomplished.
So why do I think I was once more meticulous than I apparently am today? Years ago when I began my current career, my diligence and accuracy were cited as being key factors in the CFO and VP's decision to hire me - I was literally told they liked my, "Attention to Detail!" It was not only gratifying to hear that my hard work really was paying off, but it became a motivation to ensure that I always produce quality work that would be easily identified as a "Matthew Gooley Creation."
Can you only focus on so much? Is it possible that my endeavor to focus so greatly on the details at work resulted in the lack of focus or concentration in other elements of my life? Think about it - if you are training for a marathon by running 10, 15, or even 20 miles a day, you're putting pretty much all of your energy into preparation for that amazing challenge you'll be facing. When you get home from that run do you have anything left to be involved in your family life or even any energy to mow the lawn?
Similarly, I fear I was using up too much of my "Attention to Detail" percentage at work, which may have been a detriment to the rest of my world (see previous blog posts if you need a refresher!) That brings us back to my recent opportunity to book an awesome role on a television show in New York (... which NOW seems insignificant to the many other pieces of my life where I may be lacking in attentiveness...)
It was a simple email reply with specific, easy to follow, instructions, however I was 'multi-tasking' at home - trying to get prepared for the holidays, spend time with the family, and prepare to make a quick grocery store run before an outing with my wife and son. I quickly hit reply to the email and excitedly typed in my responses to each specific question, knowing that I was racing against other actors who would be doing the same thing (possibly on a faster network than me!). I took the photos that were requested and attached them, made sure everything was there and hit "SEND."
... A few minutes later I realized there was a specific email address that was instructed to send the reply to, I checked my outbox and... I HAD done that correctly, phew, no problem there, HOWEVER upon closer inspection of my email, I had typed my phone number twice (once at the top and once at the bottom) and somehow one-digit of the first entry was INCORRECT. Ugh. I quickly replied with a "corrected phone number" message and hit send. Now the waiting game would begin - I was excited, but nervous and quickly remembered one of the reasons I was relieved to walk away from the industry for a while - it's wicked stressful just waiting and wondering!
Later that evening I still hadn't heard anything back, but knew that was part of the process and that, in fact, I may never hear anything either way and that's normal, but instead of just letting it go, I checked my outbox again - why? I don't know - go ask Flo. What did I find? I found the specific note in the original email that said to "CHANGE THE SUBJECT OF YOUR REPLY TO..." To - something I did not do! It was now hours later and casting had potentially never seen my hasty reply at all - I was probably not even being considered for this role I was already getting my hopes up for!
Why did any of this even matter when I have a wife and child at home and the challenges that go along with balancing all of that with a career and personal goals, etc? Well, that'll have to be another blog, another day.
... I resent the email, this time with all of the proper changes and details (finally paid-attention-to), but knew it was too late and I had blown a very cool chance to have a brief taste of the world of acting that brings me so much pleasure and pain.
What's your take away? If you've been paying attention to the fine-details above, then you already know, but I like reiteration, so I'll say it clearly right here: Make sure you are working on your attention to detail, practice, exercise your mind - improve on your focus and accuracy in every way you can - that new person in the office told you their name - remember it, but also remember how to pronounce it (yes, there's a personal story there too!), drafting an important email or letter - read through it and make sure there aren't silly spelling mistakes - everything is not a race, take the extra care to produce quality communications and even more importantly quality relationships - do you feel special and important if the person you are talking to is looking at their phone more than they are looking into your eyes? I doubt it.
And by the way, to my surprise, I did receive an email from casting simply to inform me that I had not been selected for the role, I'm pretty sure they just felt bad that I mucked up my response so many times.
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