Mrs. S had worked several years before her marriage and she had genuinely liked it. “But now,” she’d said, “I’ve got two youngsters in school, a home to manage and meals to prepare. I simply haven’t got time,” she complained to all her friends who cared to listen.
Then, one Sunday evening, Mr. And Mrs. S and the children were in an automobile accident. Mrs. S. and the youngsters escaped serious injury but Mr. S received a back injury that left him permanently disabled. Now. Mrs. S. had no choice but to go to work.
A ‘better’ Mrs. S
When next her friends to whom she had earlier complained saw her, they were amazed to find how well she had adjusted to her responsibilities.
“You know,” she told them, “six months ago, I never dreamed I could possibly manage the house and work full time. Believe me, my efficiency has gone up 100 per cent. I discovered a lot of things I was doing didn’t need to be done at all. Then I discovered that the children could and wanted to help.
“I found dozens of ways to conserve time – fewer trips to the store, less TV, less telephoning, less of those time killers.”
All a state of mind
According to David J. Schwartz, author of the classic work, ‘The Magic of Thinking Big’, this experience teaches us a lesson: Capacity is a state of mind.
How much we can do depends on how much we think we can do; when you really believe you can do more, your mind thinks creatively and shows you the way.
Schwartz relates another story about work capacity as told by Mr. L, a young bank executive:
Extra duty calls
“One of the other executives in the bank had left with a very short notice and this put the department on the spot. The fellow leaving had filled an important job and his work couldn’t be postponed or left undone.
“The day after he left, the vice-president in charge of the department called Mr. L in and explained to him that he had already talked individually to the two others in the group asking them if they could divide the work of the man who had just left until a replacement could be found.
‘Neither of them flatly refused,’ said the vice-president, ‘but each stated that he was up to his neck with his own ‘pressing’ work. I’m wondering if you could handle some of the overload temporarily?’
Going the extra mile
“Meanwhile, L had learnt throughout his working career that it never pays to turn down what looks like an opportunity so he agreed and promised to do his very best to handle the entire vacated job as well as keep up with his own work, and the vice-president was pleased.
“Really, L walked out of his boss’s office knowing he had taken on a big job. He was just as busy as the two others in his department who had wiggled out of the extra duty, but he was determined to find a way to handle both jobs.
“He finished up his work that afternoon, and when the offices were closed, sat down to figure out how he would increase his personal efficiency. He got a pencil and started writing down every idea he could think of.
“And he came up with several.
A more efficient Mr. L
“He had been handling his original job for over two years and was amazed to discover how much inefficiency he had let creep in and how much he could ‘squeeze’ into his now more efficient personal and official programmes.
“After a few more weeks, the vice-president called L in and complemented him on doing a fine job. He went on to say that he had looked over a number of people from both inside and outside the bank but had not yet found the right man.
“He then told L that he had already cleared with the bank’s board, and they had authorised him to combine the two jobs, put them in L’s charge, and give him a substantial increase in salary.”
L had proved to himself that how much he could do depended on how much he thought he could do.
Capacity is indeed a state of mind.
Tips for efficiency
Schwartz ends his rendition by giving two tips for success in business, in the home, and in the community.
“Do what you do better (i.e. improve the quality of your output) and do more of what you do (i.e. increase the quantity of your output).”
You can now buy copies of my book, from which excerpts were made for this column, INSPIRED KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL ACHIEVEMENT on Amazon. Please find below the purchase links for the book:
PAPERBACK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/9789423578
KINDLE: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSXQDYHY
