Rabbit Trails

Almost all of us get distracted and go chasing down rabbit trails from time to time. Some of us spend our entire lives exploring rabbit trails and never seem to accomplish much.

As a general rule, rabbit trails are counterproductive. They distract us from focusing on the job at hand, and they lead to yet other and more interesting rabbit trails. By the time you get back to the job at hand, you’ve not only forgotten where you were, but you’re not really interested in it anymore. Not only that, you need to spend a fair chunk of time making sure you make a seamless transition from time before to time after. 

But there’s another way of looking at rabbit trails, not an excuse for lallygagging, but something to keep in mind if a particular rabbit trail seems to call you back again and again.

Sometimes in our work we find ourselves apparently fixated on some particular aspect, going back repeatedly to wax and to polish it. The client doesn’t care and won’t pay for it, colleagues might grumble that our productivity suffers, and it may even impact our personal bottom line. But the trial brief just isn’t right until it’s perfectly formatted on just the right kind of paper. And stapled just so. And signed with a fountain pen with Parker's indigo ink.

We may find ourselves spending an inordinate amount of time fiddling with the accounting software, or letting our brains be picked by colleagues, to the benefit of their monthly billings and the detriment of ours. The examples are endless, but the theme is consistent: we spend time on things which are good and admirable, but which add nothing to our personal output.

So there is a question to be asked: Why do I keep doing this? 

Because the answer just might be important. Very important. A good deal of time the answer may be, “I lack the necessary self-discipline to keep my nose to the grindstone.” But sometimes, the important answer may be that you’re being pulled away from unsatisfying work to work which gives you greater satisfaction.

And that, of course, speaks to your Giftings. 

The fact that your colleagues come to you to pick your brains about tactics or strategy will suggest that they see something in you that you are not putting to best use. And the fact that you let them do it suggests that you possess and love to exercise the skill.

When your rabbit trailing is simply an exhibition of lack of self-discipline, well, suck it up. But not so fast – the rabbit habit may be hinting to you that your highest and best place in life may not be at the desk where you are currently sitting.

And that’s something I’d be happy to chat about!