Tighten the Ship

I talk to myself – A LOT! I would love to blame it on the fact that I am in my car alone a lot or that I need to remind myself of everything that I keep forgetting to tell my wife daily, but I’m pretty sure I was talking to myself long before any of that was true. One of the phrases that I use a lot when I talking to myself is “Tighten the Ship” I have no idea where it came from or if I am even using it correctly. But when I say it, it makes sense to me. Just in case I am crazy and no one else knows what I am talking about, it means I am getting to relaxed with something and I need to straighten up. The ship is getting off course and so I need to refocus and get everything back on course. The way this year has started off, I need to tighten the ship. Nothing feels out of control, but I don’t know that I really feel in control of anything either. That is sign number one that you need to tighten the ship. I think you have a very small window when you are slowly losing control, but you haven’t lost control yet, tighten the ship! You must act quickly, but you still have time and if you hurry up, no one will even notice that you almost lost control. So, what are the things that I need to regain some control over? That’s kind of a tough question, not because I don’t know the answers. But I don’t like admitting that I let something go too far. I told myself that when this year was over, my health and my finances would be in better shape. When I am done posting this article, I need to call my insurance company over an issue that came up late last week. I think I am calling my insurance company and praying that they will cover something because my finances don’t allow me to just make a call and not worry about getting help in some way. My health has always been an issue, but I have a doctor’s appointment coming up and I can just hear the judgement when I go to step on the scale. Most of the judgement is coming from me. I also feel like lately things at home and work have been a little too relaxed. Again, nothing huge, but I think all of it could use a tune-up.  You get a little relaxed on the projects that need to be done at home and next thing you know; you have an issue. As far as work goes, some days I just think you know you could have done better. Something slipped through the cracks that normally you notice. I try to do a good job with recognizing birthdays and events in people’s lives. The last few birthdays that have happened I came very close to missing. If it wasn’t for something else that I needed to look at my calendar for, I would have missed it. I try and communicate with people about their performance, lately it seems like I’m doing it at the last minute. It’s getting done, so no one is upset, but I know the truth. When I am driving home and talking to myself, I know that I could have done better. So, when you know it’s time to act and you know that so far everything is ok, but if you don’t act soon, it won’t be, how do you tighten the ship? For me I need to get back to the basics and do the things that I am passionate about. The basics for me are writing out a to do list and having a plan for each day. I also need to look at my calendar on a regular basis. That means more than once a week. I also need to write down a few passing thoughts. Those passing thoughts are usually giving me a heads up about something bigger coming down the road. I’ve also found out lately how much working on my craft motivates me. Not just going in and doing my job every day, but actually working on getting better. Most of us go to work every day and as long as things are going well, we don’t look to try and get better. I love looking at ways to get better. So, my goal this week is to work on my craft and plan things out better. I need to make sure that I always have a notepad with me and capture all the crazy things that come up. Let’s get this ship headed in the right direction!