Identifying your Task Saturation Coping Mechanisms

Now that you’ve spent countless hours painting the High Definition Destination, developing a sure-fire strategy, and following the FLEX model, your business is completely fool-proof and you’re headed straight for the finish line, right?

Not necessarily.

The biggest stumbling block to Flawless Execution, no matter how excellent your plan or how detailed your briefing, is something we call the silent killer: task saturation. Task saturation is too much to do with not enough time, not enough tools, and not enough resources to get the mission accomplished.

Unfortunately, most companies wear it like a badge of honor. But there’s nothing good for you or the team about being overworked. As task saturation increases, performance decreases, and execution errors increase. Rather than wearing it like a badge of honor, you should be acknowledging it exists, and then identifying your own task saturation coping mechanisms to prevent unnecessary trouble from brewing.

1. Shutting Down

Shutting down is the most harmless of the coping mechanisms, but still not ideal. These are the people who open their briefcase, look at everything that needs to be done, close their briefcase, then stare at the ceiling. They go blank, and maybe even fill their day with other tasks like going to the water cooler, or going to the bathroom to check their tie – everything they know they shouldn’t be doing.

2. Compartmentalizing

The people who act busy but do little, are the people who a company should worry about. People who compartmentalize their tasks start making lists, organizing their projects, and shuffling things around as if those tasks are akin to doing mission work.

3. Channelizing

Eighty percent of people cope with task saturation by channelizing or becoming overly focused on just one task. These are the people who always say, “Can’t you see I’m busy!” Their body language screams, “Don’t ask.” They’re focused on figuring out the most important thing to get done, and then they disregard all of the other mission-critical tasks that they still need to accomplish.

Task saturation is such a deadly but preventable obstacle to Flawless Execution that can easily be solved by merely acknowledging that it exists. Our cutting-edge training programs can help you recognize task saturation and give you the framework needed to sustain an accountable environment. Reach out to us here to get started!